A Grey World
by DianneRose2016
Summary: S5 Checkpoint- While Spike is watching over Dawn and Joyce they are attacked by Glory. He sends Dawn and Joyce down through the tunnels so he could face this foe. When Xander and Buffy find a brutally beaten Spike they take him back to Buffy's place. As Spike heals Buffy learns a lot more about him and the world of being a Slayer. Warnings and Full Summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: So I have decided to do a story about Checkpoint, it was in Season 5 where Buffy is having to do those test with the Council and leaves Joyce and Dawn with Spike to protect them from Glory. I wanted to change the storyline just slightly in the sense that Riley never left to help the army, he stayed and they talked it out, still working it out together. Just because I need a human villain and he is so easy for it, especially with what I plan on doing for this story.**_

 _ **Summary: While Spike is watching over Dawn and Joyce they are attacked by Glory. Spike having no idea what the hell is going on sensed something powerful and angry coming his way so he sent Dawn and Joyce down through the tunnels so he could face this foe. When Xander and Buffy find a brutally beaten Spike, they take him back to Buffy's place. As Spike heals Buffy learns a lot more about him and the world she once thought she knew she quickly discovers she knows nothing about.**_

 _ **Warnings: Violence, Sexual situations and Bad language.**_

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Chapter 1

Joyce and Dawn were running through the tunnels that neither of them even knew existed. Apparently they went all through Sunnydale and the only way they hadn't been able to get lost is that the street names were painted onto the cement walls down here. Joyce figured it worked to help the workers know where they were and where they were going so they didn't get lost. Joyce had never been down here before and she already knew that it could be easy to get lost down here and being down here was not some place you wanted to get lost in. They were on their way to the Magic Shop like Spike had told them in his hurry to get them downstairs and into the tunnel. Spike didn't know who was coming towards them, all he knew was that the person was powerful and pissed off. Spike could smell that the person wasn't human, but he didn't know what they were. He had never smelt anything like it before so he couldn't say for sure if they would be safe or not. He didn't want to risk their safety and put himself in the path of a pissed off Slayer. So he had sent them away to the Magic Shop where he knew Buffy and her friends would be. He didn't know what was going on besides the fact that the Council was here poking their nose into her life. He didn't know why as no one ever told him anything. They just expected him to do as he was told and not ask questions about it.

Joyce and Dawn ran as quickly as they could to the Magic Shop. They finally arrived after fifteen minutes to the street that the Magic Shop was located on. There was an access ladder and a manhole above.

"Let me go first Sweetie and you just follow behind me." Joyce said.

She went up the ladder first with Dawn following behind her. Joyce very carefully moved the manhole out of the way being careful of any traffic. There was none so she moved it enough to get them through it and once they were both through the manhole Dawn helped Joyce to push it back so no cars would hit it while driving. They were just a block away from the Magic Shop and they quickly walked the rest of the way. Joyce was getting rather tired as she had just had surgery on her brain to remove a tumor. She wasn't supposed to be doing much, but she couldn't help it right now. They arrived at the Magic Shop and they ran into the shop, both clearly out of breath. Joyce noticed everyone was shocked to see their presence.

"Mom, Dawn what are you doing here? You were supposed to stay at Spike's until I came back for you." Buffy asked with anger that Spike would let them leave.

She was going to be going back there shortly as the Council had just left. She just needed time to digest everything they had learnt and time to try and form some kind of plan.

"Buffy it wasn't his fault. Something was coming he didn't know what it was. He just said it wasn't human and it was powerful and very angry. He brought us down to the tunnels and told us to come here. He went back up to fight this thing. Buffy what if it was her?" Joyce said with worry in her voice.

"What that blonde that was at the house?" Dawn asked confused.

"It's going to be okay Spike can handle himself. I'll go and check it out. You guys stay here." Buffy said.

"I'll come with you just in case." Xander said.

"Xander no it's too dangerous." Anya protested.

"I'm not letting Buffy go alone." Xander said in a serious voice.

"Grab a weapon." Buffy said.

Xander went and grabbed a sword and he left with Buffy. They took his car as it was faster than running and they took off for Spike's crypt. Xander parked his car at the entrance to the graveyard and they took off at a run for Spike's crypt. As they got to the door it opened and Glory stumbled out. Both Xander and Buffy stopped to see her. Xander had never met her personally, but from what Buffy and the Council had told him she was a Hell God and Buffy hadn't been able to put a mark on her. So he was just as shocked as Buffy to see her bleeding, stumbling and clearly seriously injured as she walked out of Spike's crypt. Glory looked at them as she spoke.

"I will kill your pet vampire. He will pay for this." Glory said with seething anger before she clapped her hands and disappeared before them.

Once she was gone Buffy didn't even hesitate to run into the crypt with Xander behind her. They both stopped dead when they saw the crippled body of Spike in a pool of his own blood. They slowly went over to him both having a hard time at seeing the level of damage that had been done to him.

"Oh good God." Xander said sadly completely horrified at the shape that Spike was in.

Buffy carefully bent down so she was by Spike's head as she spoke softly, but it was more to reassure herself than Xander.

"He's not dust, not dust means he's alive and will heal."

Buffy tried to look at Spike and take an inventory of his injuries. His head was covered in blood and she could see that parts of his skull were broken and not in place. His right hand looked completely shattered along with his whole arm and wrist. Buffy knew that he would have more injuries that they couldn't see right now. She could see that most of the blood was coming from his head. He also had some dripping out of his ears, eyes, nose and his mouth. She had a feeling that he had some major internal bleeding going on.

"We need to get him out of here. Let's get him to my place I'll call the shop along the way." Buffy said with a slight panic to her voice.

With the help of Xander they were able to get the unconscious vampire up off of the floor with an arm over each of their shoulders. Buffy saw something in the blood and she noticed that it was a small device. Buffy instantly knew that it was the chip, during the severe beating on Spike's brain it must have gotten knocked out. Buffy didn't say anything she just walked out with Xander. She didn't know what to do about it or how she felt about it and she couldn't think about it just yet. All she could think about was the fact that Spike was this injured because she had got him to watch her mom and sister. If it hadn't been for that then Glory would never have been there in the first place. Chip or no chip Buffy had to help him and then she would deal with what came next later. They got Spike into Xander's back seat and they both got into the front seat. Xander handed Buffy his cell phone and she called the Magic Shop.

"Magic Shop how can I help you?" Anya asked with a cheerful voice.

"Anya put mom on."

"Oh Buffy ya one second."

Buffy could hear Anya telling them it was her on the phone before her mother spoke.

"Buffy, what happened is Spike ok?" Joyce asked with genuine concern for the vampire.

"No he's not ok. He's not a pile of dust but he's not ok. Look I know this is a lot to ask, but it's not really safe for him there right now and he's really badly injured." Buffy said, but before she could say anymore Joyce cut her off.

"Of course he can stay with us. Put him in the guest bedroom. We need blood right?" Joyce asked already in her motherly role.

"Ya we need some. Have Giles get it and then have everyone come to the house and we can figure out what to do next. Thanks mom."

"He saved our lives tonight the least we can do is get him better." Joyce simply said.

Buffy ended the call and handed the phone back to Xander.

"Mom said he can crash in the guest bedroom and I don't want to hear any arguments from you." Buffy said.

"Believe it or not I don't have one to that right now. I don't like him, but he didn't have to do what he did tonight. He didn't have to protect them like that, but he did. That's earned some respect in my book. And for as far as vampires go he's not that bad." Xander said sadly.

"He's really injured." Buffy said sadly with a great deal of guilt in her.

"He's not dust like you said he just needs some blood and he'll be back to his annoying self you'll see Buff." Xander said trying to reassure Buffy even if he didn't truly believe it himself.

When they got to Buffy's house they both carried Spike inside and they carefully got him up the stairs as gently as they could. It wasn't easy as Spike weighed more than he looked. They were able to get him into the guest bedroom and down on the bed. Buffy immediately went into the bathroom and grabbed some old towels and the first aid kit before she went back into the guest bedroom. Buffy lifted Spike's head to put the old towel down to protect the bed from the blood. Xander went and began to remove Spike's boots while Buffy ripped Spike's shirt off to reveal the level of damage done to his torso. It was covered in black and purple as the external bruising and internal bleeding showed on his torso. Buffy could see that he didn't have a rib cage anymore as it had been crushed into nothing by the power of Glory. Buffy also knew that if his pants were removed they would be able to see even more bruising covering his legs.

"I don't even know what to do." Buffy softly admitted.

"I think his head took the worst of the beating. How do we know if he doesn't have brain damage or something from all of this?" Xander asked unsure if he should or not.

"I don't know. Do vampires get that? Maybe I should just start by getting the blood off of him and go from there." Buffy said as she stood up and went into down the stairs into the kitchen to get a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth. She went back up the stairs and got to the room as she heard the front door open.

"Buffy, sweetie!" Joyce called from the front door.

"In here mom!" Buffy called back as she slowly began to wash the blood off from Spike.

They could hear everyone coming up the stairs and it was clear by their faces that they didn't expect Spike to be this bad.

"Oh my God!" Dawn yelled horrified by what she was seeing.

"Get her out of here." Buffy instantly said.

Anya grabbed Dawn and brought her out of the room and back down the stairs.

"Good God. Joyce said you told her he was injured, but I didn't expect this." Giles said shocked at the sight of Spike.

"Will he be ok?" Joyce asked horrified at the level of damage done to the man that had protected her and her daughter.

"He's not dust so he should be okay." Buffy said as she washed the blood away from Spike's face.

"We got blood. I'll go warm some up. How are we giving it to him?" Willow asked

"In a mug with a straw I guess. I'm kinda hoping he'll wake up once he smells it. He wasn't conscious when we got to him." Buffy answered.

"I'll go warm some up." Willow said as she headed out of the room.

"What happened?" Tara asked.

"It was Glory. I'll explain later." Buffy said.

"Of course. Why don't we go downstairs and leave Spike to Buffy." Giles said.

"Oh I don't know." Joyce started to protest but Buffy stopped her.

"Mom it's okay I got this. You're supposed to be resting. Please go sit downstairs with Dawn it's okay."

"Alright Buffy."

Everyone left Buffy alone with Spike to get him cleaned up and then eventually eat. Buffy continued to clean Spike up when Willow brought in a mug of blood. They heard the front door open and they both knew that the only person missing was Riley.

"I don't want him up here Will." Buffy said.

"I'll go down and keep him away. You just try and get him to eat something." Willow said comforting.

Willow headed down the stairs to see Riley standing in the entrance of the living room.

"Where's Buffy?" Riley asked with concern.

"Um she's upstairs. You can't go up there though she's busy." Willow said slightly unsure of what Riley knew about.

"Busy doing what?" Riley asked slightly angry that Willow told him he couldn't see his girlfriend.

"She's busy taking care of Spike." Dawn said not even realising the threat Riley was to Spike.

"She's with that thing! What the hell is he even doing in this house?" Riley asked furious now as he went for the stairs, but he was stopped by Xander standing in front of him to block the stairs. "Xander what the hell are you doing? That thing is in this house." Riley said with anger.

"That thing has a name. I might not like him, but even I don't call him that. His name is Spike and if Buffy doesn't want you up there right now then you're not going up there." Xander said with anger after everything Spike just did to protect Joyce and Dawn.

"Riley this is my home and if you are going to be here then you will respect my home. Spike is here because he is injured. He was injured protecting myself and Dawn so if you have a problem with my daughter trying her best to keep him alive then you can leave. You will not speak about my friend in that way under my roof or you won't be under my roof ever." Joyce said with anger as she sat on the couch holding Dawn.

"She shouldn't be alone with him Ms. Summers, he's not safe to be around." Riley said trying to get her to understand.

"He is no threat to my family if he was he wouldn't have been allowed in my home for all of these years." Joyce said back.

"Years? What do you mean years? I thought he was just allowed in? Are you telling me that thing has had access to you all for years? He could have killed you at any second what were you all thinking?" Riley asked amazed at their stupidity.

"Riley that is enough. You do not know the whole history so you do not get to comment on it. Buffy will be down when she is done and then we can all be filled in on what has happened until then I suggest you take this time to calm down." Giles said in a tone that everyone knew he wasn't about to tolerate any further comment.

Buffy finished washing the blood off from Spike and she couldn't believe how injured he was. Both of his eyes were swollen shut, his nose was broken, his right cheek bone was broken and it looked like his jaw had been broken as well. Buffy couldn't believe the damage that he had took. She also couldn't believe the level of damage that Spike had been able to cause to Glory, something Buffy hadn't even been able to do yet. Buffy knew that Spike was strong and she had defended her decision to leave her mom and Dawn with him. She knew that her decision would never be questioned again. Spike had at least proved that he was strong and willing to defend her family no matter what. For some reason she had always felt like Spike was a man of his word. He had helped her to save the world when Angelus was walking around again. When he had received the chip he went to them. He didn't have to go to her and Giles, but he chose to. It was like they had always had this understanding of each other. Buffy couldn't help but think that it was weird that they had trusted each other on some level even when they were enemies. Now that he had been chipped and helping her with slaying and protecting her family she didn't know what that made him. He was no longer an enemy, but an alley, yet an alley she had trusted with her family's lives. Now he no longer had the chip and she couldn't help but wonder if he would go back to being the enemy. Part of her hurt at the thought that she would have to stake him if he turned against her. Yet there was this other part of her that told her he wouldn't turn on her, that he had changed and it wasn't just because of the chip. She wanted to believe that he could be good, because she didn't want him to go through all of this pain only for her to have to stake him for turning on her. The problem was Spike didn't have a soul and without a soul there was nothing to retain the demon. The chip forced him to not be able to hunt or harm anyone and now that it was gone there was nothing stopping his demon from coming out to play. Buffy couldn't help but fear that she would have another Angelus problem on her hands.

Buffy shook the thought from her mind as she picked up the mug of blood with the straw in it. She didn't even know if she could get Spike to drink any of the blood, but she knew she needed to try. She brought the mug over to Spike's face and held it under his nose hoping the smell would wake the demon up enough to drink it. After a minute and Spike didn't even flinch Buffy let out a sigh. She looked down at the blood and made a little disgusted face at it and what she was thinking of doing. She knew Spike needed the blood to heal and to live. She needed Spike to recover from this so he could help her fight Glory. Buffy found a new hope that they could defeat Glory if they did it together. Together they would be unstoppable and they could defeat her without having to risk Dawn's life. With that thought in mind she dipped her finger into the warm blood and brought it to Spike's mouth. She gently put her finger into his mouth and rubbed it against his tongue. It was her last hope that the taste would get him to stir slightly to be able to drink the blood. Once the blood was gone from her finger she tried it again as she spoke.

"Come on Spike I know its just pig's blood but come on. Take the blood Spike. I need you too." Buffy said with a desperate voice.

Spike started to move his tongue around her finger and Buffy smiled.

"That's it Spike take the blood."

Buffy moved her finger out and dipped it into the blood before she put it back into Spike's welcoming mouth. After doing it two more times Buffy removed the straw and very carefully tipped the mug into Spike's mouth. She went slowly so to allow Spike to swallow the blood. What worried her was that he didn't vamp out with the blood and Buffy didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad sign. Once the blood was all gone Spike still didn't stir, but Buffy took comfort in the fact that she could get him to drink the mug of blood. She would give him some more in an hour and keep it up until he was healing. She needed him healed and back in fighting shape for Glory. Buffy put the blanket over Spike to help keep him warm before she picked up the mug and headed down the stairs. She could see the anger on Riley's face, but in this current moment she couldn't bring herself to care. She had other problems to worry about right now and his ego was not one of them.

"How is he?" Xander asked with concern.

"I got him to finally drink the blood, but he still didn't wake up. For a while there I didn't think I would be able to get him to drink any at all." Buffy said sadly.

"What happened?" Anya asked.

"Dawn, why don't you go upstairs." Buffy said gently.

"Oh right can't tell the kid what's going on, but it's okay for her to be in a vampire's crypt." Dawn said sarcastically.

"You were there for Spike to keep you safe. You're only fourteen I don't want you to have to deal with this stuff. Look, you can go and sit with Spike just be quiet he needs to rest." Buffy said hoping it would be enough to make Dawn leave.

"Fine, but only because I get to sit with Spike." Dawn said as she got up from the couch.

"He doesn't look too great right now, but remember he's still alive and he will heal from everything. So don't be scared it's just bruises and swelling." Buffy said comfortingly.

"I'll be fine. I'll come get you if he wakes up." Dawn said before she headed up the stairs to sit with Spike.

Buffy went over and stood by the couch where her mother was sitting.

"Buffy do you really think it would be wise for your little sister to be sitting alone with a vampire?" Riley asked with a slightly condescending tone.

"He can't hurt her even if he wanted to which he wouldn't. He got that injured because he was protecting them."

"Did he kill that woman?" Joyce asked Buffy with a slight hopefulness to her voice.

"No he didn't kill Glory. He did injure her though pretty badly." Buffy said proudly.

"He injured her?" Giles asked with complete interest now.

"Ya he kicked her ass. She could barely stand up when she was coming out of his crypt. She clapped her hands and disappeared before we could do anything though." Xander said.

"So then she isn't human if he hurt her." Riley said not seeing the big deal in it.

"She's a Hell God. The Key works to open the portal to her Hell dimension. She wants to go back to her home and the Key is the only way for that to happen." Buffy said.

"What happens to the Key if that happened?" Joyce asked fearing for her youngest daughter.

"The Key's blood starts to ritual to open the portal and it can only be assumed that the portal won't close until the Key is dead. During that time the portal will remain open allowing demons in that Hell dimension to cross over into our dimension. Essentially bringing forth Hell on Earth." Giles said.

"But it's okay that's not going to happen, because Spike hurt her." Buffy said proudly.

"So what? What's the big deal in that?" Riley said clearly annoyed that everyone cared about it so much.

"Because Spike did something that I haven't been able to do. I haven't even landed a hit on Glory, but Spike seriously injured her. Ya he's seriously injured, but he fought her not knowing what she was or what to expect. I kept him in the dark and it almost cost him his life. When he's better I'll tell him everything so he can be prepared for the next time. And when's ready we'll go after her together and take this Hell bitch out." Buffy said with confidence.

"You don't know if he could even hurt her again. It could have been a fluke. For all you know he could betray you. You should be keeping him far away from all of this. If you need backup then I will back you up. I'm your boyfriend I'll be there for you." Riley said.

"You can't fight her Riley. She's a God for Chris sake. She took an old, powerful vampire and severely injured him. Spike used to make comments all the time about how if he wanted me dead I would have been dead. I always took it as some ego talk and nothing more. But you know what, he was right. I've never fought the Slayer of Slayers. I've never fought William the Bloody. I've fought Spike and Spike just likes to dance around and get a feel for someone. He was testing me every time he fought me and I'm still alive because he didn't kill me on purpose. Maybe I wasn't good enough yet for him or maybe I interested him so he kept me alive to see what I would become I don't know, but it was because of his choice and not my skills. Spike is powerful and he has done something that I haven't been able to do. So the very last thing I am going to do is keep him away when he might be the only person strong enough to kill Glory and to protect my family." Buffy said with seriousness to her voice.

"As for him switching sides. History has dictates that Spike is very loyal to those that he considers his own and he seems to have taken Joyce and Dawn as his own. It is also known that Spike is not one who loses a war sort to speak. He will go after Glory again if for nothing else to be able to say that he won." Giles added.

"We'll he is my friend and he will be here until he is well enough to be back on his own. Frankly, I would feel better with Spike in the house where he is safe and can recover properly." Joyce said.

"You want to keep a soulless vampire around in your house." Riley said with disbelief in his voice.

"Why not? He's very powerful. The demons and vampires in this town won't attack him unless he fights them. I mean Spike could literally sleep in the middle of the cemetery and he wouldn't be attacked. Unless some stupid new vampire tries to, but then he would just kill them without even having to get up. Spike is also the reason why Joyce and Dawn have yet to be killed by any demon looking to get at the Slayer. History would prove that by now they would have been killed, but Spike has everyone knowing that they are untouchable so they leave them alone. It only seems fair to let him stay here to heal after all he's done to protect them." Anya simply said.

"I didn't know that." Buffy said surprised that Spike had made it so that her family was safe.

"Well it's not like he's going to tell you. You'll just accuse him of trying to get something from you. He's not. He's doing it because he cares about them and wants them safe when he's not around. He's loyal and he always keeps his word. I think that was made pretty obvious tonight." Anya said.

"While I don't fully agree with having Spike here, he is unable to harm anyone. He does have the chip and even if he didn't he still wouldn't be able to hurt anyone. He's too injured. For all we know he could have brain damage from the powerful blows to his head. There's no telling just how much damage is done until he is able to talk." Giles said.

"Even if he does he'll heal right? I mean he's a vampire they can heal from anything." Xander said with a slight concern to his voice.

"Almost anything. You can cut out their organs and they will grow back, but body parts won't. They heal from brain damage just takes a long time." Riley said like he was talking about the weather.

"How do you know that?" Willow asked slightly unsure if she wanted the actual answer.

"We were able to learn a lot about their species in the lab. It helped us be able to be better prepared in the field and for medical advancements." Riley simply said.

"You tortured them?" Tara said with hurt in her voice.

"No we ran tests on the subjects. We're not talking about people we're talking about soulless things they don't matter." Riley simply said.

"That doesn't mean you can torture them and call it experiments. How do you know they don't have souls?" Joyce said disgusted by her daughter's boyfriend.

"Ms. Summers, they were demons and vampires. They kill people and are evil. They didn't have souls, no demon or vampire does except for that one who was cursed."

"You don't know if they hurt anyone. You just make assumptions on them because of their race. You could make the same assumptions about the human race as well. We're full of murderers, serial killers, child abusers, rapist and worse. What you did can't be justified because you think they are all evil without any knowledge of it being true." Joyce said with anger.

"Shouldn't we be more worried about this Hell God? I mean how long will it take before Spike is back to being able to fight?" Xander asked trying to get everyone back on track. He didn't want to hear how Riley may have participated in torturing defenseless creatures. Xander didn't like demons or vampires, but that didn't mean he would torture them when they couldn't even fight back. It was wrong and not something he wanted to think about right now.

"Depends on his injuries, how much blood and rest he gets. Spike would have a better idea, but that will have to wait until morning I suspect when he wakes up. For now see if you can get him to drink some blood every couple of hours and just let him sleep. Pig's blood will take longer for him to heal with if he has serious internal injuries. If he does have brain damage it could take months before he is fully healed and able to fight I'm afraid." Giles said.

"We don't have months, not just for him to heal anyways. You said so yourself we have three months before Glory needs to open her portal. We don't have time to wait for Spike to heal if it's going to take that long." Buffy said with worry.

"Animal blood is not strong. It's just strong enough to keep a vampire alive and in fighting condition. It doesn't do much against serious injuries I'm afraid. I can pick up some human blood from Willy's in the morning and that should help him heal quicker. If he does have brain damage though, it could take a long time before he is able to fight. It's something we will deal with if it happens. Like I said we won't know more until he wakes up." Giles said.

"Great now we're feeding the thing human blood. You know if he's in that much pain it would be more humane to just stake him right?" Riley said clearly not happy that everyone wanted Spike to be fighting by Buffy and not himself.

"No one is staking him. I need him in this fight it's that simple. Giles get the blood and if he does have brain damage from the attack then we can deal with it then." Buffy said.

"I might be able to do a spell to see what his injuries are. I could get the supplies from the magic shop tomorrow morning." Tara suggested.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea. If he isn't able to talk just yet at least we will know what level of damage we are dealing with." Buffy said with a small smile to Tara.

"We'll pick up the stuff tomorrow morning once we find the right spell." Willow said with a small smile to Tara.

"I am going to lie down. Buffy will you be alright with Spike tonight?" Joyce asked with concern.

"I'll be fine go and rest. I'll stay with him to make sure nothing happens or in case he wakes up." Buffy reassured her mother.

"I'll be with her." Riley added.

"No you won't be. I don't want you anywhere near Spike while he is like this. You're negativity will do more damage than good. You will go to your own place tonight." Joyce said with a seriousness to her voice as she stood up.

"She shouldn't be alone with it." Riley said.

"My daughter can handle herself with Spike. Now please go home so I can rest in peace." Joyce said as she gave Buffy a kiss on the cheek before she headed up the stairs to say good night to Dawn and Spike.

"Go home Riley I'll call you tomorrow." Buffy said with a voice that everyone knew meant she was angry.

"Buffy." Riley started, but Buffy speaking cut him off.

"Everyone is going home. I'll be fine to handle Spike."

"We'll come by tomorrow morning with the stuff for the spell." Willow said understanding that Buffy wanted some time alone.

"I'll bring some human blood by in the morning and once the spell is done we can go from there." Giles said.

"Ok sounds good." Buffy said.

"Are you sure you don't want someone to stay? I don't mind." Xander said.

"Thanks, but I'll be okay he's just going to sleep." Buffy said.

"I'll come by in the morning then and see what the damage is." Xander said.

"Thanks for your help tonight." Buffy said to Xander sincerely.

"No problem Buff. Come on Ahn let's get home." Xander said.

They all filed out of the house and Buffy went into the kitchen to get another mug of blood warmed up before she went upstairs and into the guest bedroom. She walked in to see Dawn sitting down in the chair by the bed with her mother sitting on the other side of the bed facing Spike.

"How is he?" Buffy asked as she walked into the room.

"He hasn't even moved. He's not breathing either. I know he doesn't have to, but he normally breathes." Dawn said sadly.

"He'll be okay Dawnie. As long as he isn't dust he will heal from everything. He just needs blood and rest." Buffy said trying to sound comforting.

"Did everyone leave?" Joyce asked.

"Ya they are going to come by in the morning to see how he is." Buffy answered.

"Alright, well I am off to bed and Dawn you need to start getting ready as well. It's getting late and you have school in the morning." Joyce said.

"Can't I stay home tomorrow?" Dawn asked.

"No you can't. Spike will still be here when you get home from school. He needs rest you can see him in the morning before school and when you come home." Joyce said.

"Alright fine. I'll go get ready for bed. Goodnight."

"Night Dawn." Buffy said.

"Goodnight Sweetie." Joyce said as she gave Dawn a hug before she left.

Once they were alone Joyce spoke.

"I don't like Riley. I wish you would stop dating him."

"I don't like him very much tonight either. I didn't know that they did experiments on the demons they captured. I should have known though, Spike should have told me." Buffy said sadly.

"Maybe he didn't know. Do you think he had to suffer through it?" Joyce asked sadly.

"I don't know. He didn't say anything about it. He didn't even really want to talk about it. He just told us what we needed to know and that was it. I don't know what he went through and what he didn't. I never asked him though either."

"He's become an interesting part of our lives. I know it's not easy for you, but you may want to consider being nicer to him. He really does do a lot to keep Dawn and me safe."

"I just don't know what to do with him. He's not Angel, he doesn't have a soul all he has is a chip and he doesn't even have that anymore." Buffy finally admitted.

"What do you mean? What happened to it?" Joyce asked calmly.

"It fell out at some point when he was fighting Glory. I saw it in the blood on the ground."

"And you didn't tell anyone you saw it." Joyce simply stated.

"He's no danger right now as he is. I didn't want to start the argument of if we stake him or not. It's not like he would know he doesn't have the chip anymore I could just not tell anyone and he'll go on thinking he can't feed off of humans."

"Buffy Anne Summers you will not leave this man thinking he can't defend himself against a human. I raised you better than that." Joyce said with a slight anger to her tone.

"It's not that simple mom. I don't want him to go back to feeding off of humans and trying to kill me." Buffy said in her defense.

"And what happens when he is out and Riley or one of those Army men grabs him and he gets captured or killed because he doesn't know he can fight back? If you truly believe that after everything he has done to keep our family safe that he would just turn around and try to kill you then you don't know him at all. He would never disrespect this family like that. You know as well as I do if he wanted you dead in this past year he could have had any demon gang go after you. He has changed and he deserves for you to treat him as such."

"I know he's done a lot to protect us. This happened because I asked him to watch over you and Dawn tonight. I just don't want to have to stake him, not after everything he just did and I'm afraid that if he knows he doesn't have the chip he'll go back to killing again and I'll be forced to kill him." Buffy said honestly with sadness to her voice.

"I don't see him doing that Sweetie and I think deep down you don't either. I think you are afraid to trust him fully because of Angel. But he's not Angel he doesn't have a soul to lose, but that's not a bad thing."

"How can that not be a bad thing Mom? There's now nothing stopping his demon from going crazy."

"He didn't have a soul or a chip when he was here before. When we had conversation together over hot cocoa. He didn't have a soul or a chip then and he didn't even try to hurt me. I don't know how it all works, but Spike seems to have a much better control over his demon than Angel ever did. There were times when I looked at Angel and I couldn't even see a soul in him. Yet with Spike, there are times when I look at him and I don't see a vampire, I just see a man. A man that I believe cares about you on some level and he would never put you in the position where you would have to stake him." Joyce said patiently.

"I don't know what to do. I have to tell the others about it at least. It's not something I can keep from them and I'll figure out the rest later. It's all I can do right now." Buffy said calmly.

"Just keep in mind what I said. Now I need sleep. Come and get me if you need me in the night Sweetie."

"I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm going to sleep while he sleeps. If he wakes up I'll feel it. I'll also set my alarm so I can get up and give him blood every couple of hours."

"Ok Sweetie I love you." Joyce said as she went and gave Buffy a hug.

Buffy hugged her back as she spoke. "I love you too Mom. And thanks for being so understanding with all of this. I'm pretty sure other Slayer's moms wouldn't have been so accepting of them and their friends."

"You are my daughter and I love you with all of my heart no matter what. He's my friend too and I care about him. It's that Riley I don't care much for."

"I know, major conversation ahead for him trust me, but tonight was not the night for it."

"No it was not. Goodnight Sweetie."

"Goodnight Mom."

Joyce headed out of the room and Buffy turned her attention to the still unconscious vampire. She sat down with the mug of blood and she didn't even hesitate this time she dipped her finger into the blood and gently put it into Spike's mouth. It took a moment before Spike's tongue moved to lick off the blood. Buffy did it a few more times before she got him to drink from the mug. Once the blood was gone she went downstairs and rinsed out the mug and set it aside for later before she went back up and sat down in the big comfy chair in the room by the bed. She put her feet up on the edge of the bed and then sat back. She was exhausted from everything that had happened in the past couple of days so she closed her eyes after setting her phone for two hours from now and she let herself fall asleep.

It was six in the morning when Buffy woke up feeling that something was wrong. She opened her eyes and looked over at Spike. She could see him sweating and horribly shaking. It was clear that his body was in a great deal of pain and he wasn't able to handle it. Buffy got up out of the chair and gently placed her hands on each of his shoulders as she spoke.

"Spike, Spike can you hear me?"

Spike didn't respond at all to her and Buffy knew that he was a lot more injured than they had all thought he would be. She grabbed her phone and quickly called Giles. After four rings he answered.

"Hello?" Giles' voice was filled with sleep as he had just been woken up.

"Giles it's me. Spike is worse. I don't know what is wrong with him, but he's sweating and shaking uncontrollably. He's in a lot of pain and I still can't get him to wake up." Buffy said with worry.

"His body must be more injured than we had anticipated. I will go and get him some blood and call everyone else. Willow and Tara need to do a spell so we know exactly what the damage is." Giles said now more awake than he had been before.

"Ok what should I do?"

"Try and see if you can relieve some of his pain until we get there."

"Got ok thanks."

Buffy ended the call, but she still wasn't sure what she should be doing. She didn't know what to do for someone that was this injured. She looked up when she heard her mom walking down the hall. Joyce walked into the doorway and she was instantly worried when she saw the condition that Spike was in.

"Buffy, when did this start?" Joyce asked with concern.

"I don't know I just woke up when I felt something was wrong. I called Giles he is going to get some human blood and then get Willow and Tara over here to do the spell so we will know what is wrong. He said I should try and help with the pain, but I don't know how."

"I'll get him a damp cloth to put on his forehead and some ice packs."

Joyce went down the stairs and into the kitchen to get a couple of ice packs to help with Spike's more serious injuries and a cold damp cloth for his forehead. She also warmed up some blood to see if it would help with the pain as well. She didn't know anything about vampires really so she didn't know if any of it would help him with his pain, but it was worth a try. With those items in her hands she went back up the stairs to see Buffy trying to soothe Spike by talking to him. Buffy turned to see Joyce coming back into the room. She handed Buffy the mug that Buffy put down on the bedside table before she took the damp cloth and placed it gently over Spike's forehead and she put the two ice packs on his stomach and chest. She didn't know if that was what was hurting him the most or not, but it had the most bruising so she was going to chance it. Buffy sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up the mug of blood. Spike turned his head towards the smell of the blood and Buffy spoke.

"Spike, can you hear me?" Buffy asked softly, but Spike didn't register it.

"Move the blood." Joyce suggested.

Buffy moved the blood to the left and Spike followed it. She moved it over to Spike's mouth and he opened it slightly and she was able to get him to drink it.

"He can still smell at least. I don't know if he can hear us or if he even knows what is going on. The demon in him can smell the blood today though so I think that is an improvement." Buffy explained.

"So the blood might be doing something for him after all." Joyce said hopeful.

"It will normally, it just takes a long time. I don't know how long he'll be in this level of pain though." Buffy said sadly.

"Well hopefully the others will be here soon to give us some answers. I'm going to get dressed and put on some coffee." Joyce said before she turned to head out of the room.

Buffy just sat down on the edge of the bed and she gently touched the side of Spike's face. Spike turned his head at the smell of her hand before it touched his uninjured cheek. Buffy moved her hand back around his nose and Spike followed it. Buffy couldn't help but smile at him. She placed her hand against Spike's right cheek gently and she made sure her wrist was near his nose.

"Well I don't know if you can hear me, but at least you can smell me so you know you're safe. At least I hope you know you are safe. I never thought I would be so happy that you can smell me. You would think after dating Angel this type of thing wouldn't bother me, but he spent so much time getting me to forget what he was that we didn't talk about any of it. I never noticed it before just how different you both are. I know you would say that you are completely different, but I never noticed how different you are outside of the whole soul thing. I used to think all soulless vampires were the same, but you're making me see otherwise. Before you were just an evil enemy and now I don't know what you are, but you're not what I thought you would be. I didn't think you would actually go this far to protect them. I owe you a lot for what you did Spike." Buffy said softly into the empty room.

It was just over an hour later when Dawn woke up and everyone else arrived. Giles came up into the room with a mug of human blood. He handed it to Buffy as he spoke.

"How is he?" Giles asked with a slight concern.

"He's still shaking, but it's not as bad as it was. We gave him some blood about an hour ago that seemed to help slightly. He could smell the blood and he can smell me. He hasn't opened his eyes or even gave any indication that he can hear us, but he can smell at least."

"Did he do that last night?"

"No he didn't even move at all."

"He might be improving then. Willow and Tara are down in the kitchen working on the spell right now. Hopefully they will be able to tell us more. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine. I slept some last night in between giving him blood."

"I meant emotionally and mentally. It couldn't have been easy to hear what Riley had said about Spike. It wasn't easy for myself to hear it and I am not dating the man." Giles said gently as he moved closer to the other side of the bed so he could get a better look at Spike.

"We've always had different opinions. I know I slay vampires, but I don't torture them or run experiments on them. It's different."

"It is different. That opinion is something that you will need to discuss with each other eventually. I want you to be happy and to be with a normal human being, but maybe that was just my wishful thinking. The normal human being isn't turning out any better than the ensouled vampire."

"Maybe I'm not meant to have a relationship. I mean really how many vampire Slayers have there been that had a husband?"

"None that I am aware of. I know you feel responsible for what has happened to Spike, but you are not at fault. And he would tell you the same thing if he could."

"He got hurt because Glory went there looking for me or she was looking to hurt mom and Dawn. It doesn't matter the only reason he got hurt is because of me. I brought him involved in this without even giving him any information or a choice. I should have known better. I should have at least given him the basics before I forced him into this. We all treat him like crap and then we expect him to be there to help us defend each other. And what does he do? He takes it because he has no other choice but to."

"We are not used to being around vampires Buffy. The only one we have been around is Angel and he was different with his soul. It takes time to adjust and change our opinion of one vampire. We all have treated him a little unfairly since he has been helping us killing demons. That is something that can be changed though Buffy. It doesn't have to stay as a regret."

"So you trust him? What if he didn't have a chip anymore? Would you still trust him to not go back to being evil?" Buffy asked cautiously.

"I have always believed from when Spike received his chip that he was meant to have it. A change of course from the Powers that Be. A very powerful and old master vampire gets a modification chip to make it so he can't hurt humans yet he can do all the damage he wants to a demon. Spike could have got a pack together and destroyed this city, but he chose not to. He chose to help you fight demons and patrol with you at night to watch your back. I don't think not having the chip would change that. I think he has made his choice and I don't see him changing it." Giles simply said.

Willow and Tara came up into the room with a bowl in Tara's hands.

"Ok we're ready." Willow said.

Buffy moved away from the bed with Giles as Willow and Tara went on each side of the bed. They began to do the spell and they could hear the front door opening with Anya and Xander coming into the house. They came up the stairs and walked into the room to see everyone around Spike. They saw Tara and Willow working on the spell around Spike and Xander went over to Giles and Buffy and whispered.

"How is he?"

"I don't know. He's either getting worse or getting better I'm not sure." Buffy said with worry.

"What happened?" Xander whispered.

"I woke up at six to find him shaking and sweating really badly. He's in a lot of pain, but it could be from healing I don't know. Hopefully Will and Tara will be able to tell us."

They heard the front door open again and they figured it was Joyce or Dawn going outside to the paper. After twenty minutes Willow and Tara had finished the spell and they both looked really sad and hurt.

"How bad is it?" Buffy asked trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"Maybe we should go downstairs where we can talk properly and Joyce can be there to hear it." Willow said sadly.

They all headed down the stairs to see that Riley was actually standing in the living room with Joyce.

"Riley, what are you doing here?" Buffy asked trying to keep calm.

"You said everyone was going to be here this morning to see what injuries the vampire has. We also didn't come up with a plan for the new Hostile."

"How is he?" Joyce asked with worry doing her best to ignore Riley.

"He's in bad shape." Willow said sadly.

They all filed into the living room, but before Willow elaborated Buffy spoke.

"Where's Dawn?"

"She's upstairs getting ready for school. What are his injuries?" Joyce asked.

"His rib cage and chest plate is completely shattered. His lungs, liver, spleen and kidneys are horribly bruised and mush practically. He has to regrow the organs and it is causing him a great deal of pain. He has a fever and he's weak right now. His eyes are both swollen, his nose is broken, his whole right arm and hand is shattered, his left cheek bone is broken and his jaw. He also has three spots on his skull that were crushed. The bones went inward and it pierced parts of his brain. He has damage done to three parts of his brain, his speech, his eyes and the nerves that control his right hand. I'm afraid he will be blind when he does wake up and he might have a hard time talking if he can talk at all. Not to mention his right hand will shake and might not work properly until the nerves heal." Willow explained sadly.

"Oh my God." Joyce said with pain in her voice as she sat down in the chair.

"How long will it take for him to heal?" Buffy asked sadly.

"I don't know." Tara said sadly.

"It could be at least six months before he is able to be fighting. He'll be in a great deal of pain for six months until he has fully recovered." Giles answered clearly upset at the level of damage that had been done to Spike.

"Can't we speed that up somehow?" Xander asked.

"Even if we gave him human blood everyday it would still take six months at least. The only other blood that would be stronger than that is Drusilla's, but that is out of the question." Giles explained.

"Well now what?" Anya asked.

"A healing spell wouldn't work on a vampire or I would try one." Tara said sadly.

"Just leave him to heal. We can drop him off back at his crypt and he can heal. We need to focus on the new Hostile and how to defeat it." Riley said.

"I need to make a phone call." Buffy said as she moved to go out the back door and pulled out her cell phone. After three rings the person answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Angel it's me. I'm sorry did I wake you up?"

"No I haven't gone to sleep yet. Is everything alright?" Angel asked with concern as Buffy never calls him this early.

"No not really. It's Spike he's hurt, really bad." Buffy said with worry not even bothering to hide it from her voice.

"How bad is really bad?" Angel asked calmly.

"We've been fighting this new Big Bad and I didn't keep him in the loop. It's a long story but basically she is after me because I have this Key that she can use to open a portal to release Hell on Earth so she can get back to her Hell Dimension. She knew where I live and Mom had just gotten out of the hospital after brain surgery not too long ago and she's still weak from it. I had Mom and Dawn go to Spike's crypt to keep them safe, because he's the only one strong enough besides me to do it. I didn't tell him what she was though or who was after them possibly. I should have told him." Buffy ranted on.

"Buffy slow down. Who is after you?" Angel asked trying to make sense of what Buffy was going on about.

"A Hell God that goes by the name Glory. Only we didn't know she was a Hell God until last night. Last night the Council came down to test me again and see if I was worthy of them before they gave us any information they had on her. I got them to tell me, but I was worried about Mom and Dawn being in the house alone after Glory had already showed up here. So I took them to Spike's and got him to watch over them. While we were at the Magic Shop Glory showed up at Spike's place and he got Mom and Dawn down into the tunnels before he fought Glory only he didn't know what she was or why she was coming after Mom and Dawn. I kept him out of the loop about everything. I hadn't been able to hurt Glory in the two times I've fought her. I haven't even landed a hit so when Mom and Dawn came into the shop and told us that someone had shown up at Spike's but they didn't know who it was. Xander and I went to see what was going on as I thought it would be Glory. We got there and she was leaving his crypt. She was seriously injured, but before we had a chance to fight her she disappeared. We went in to see how Spike was, but it was bad. It's really bad. We brought him back here and we've been giving him pig's blood and we just gave him some human blood, but it's bad Angel, it's really bad and it's my fault because I didn't keep him in the loop and I put him in the position to protect them."

"Buffy calm down. Spike will heal as long as he isn't dust he will heal. Just calm down and tell me his injuries." Angel said calmly trying to keep calm himself. Him and Spike didn't have much love for each other, but Angel knew Spike had been trying in the past year after he was chipped. Angel had to give him some credit for trying to help Buffy and her friends out.

"Willow and Tara did a spell to see what the damage was. His kidneys, liver, spleen and lungs are practically mush they said. His eyes are both swollen shut, his nose, left cheek bone and jaw is broken. His whole right arm and hand is shattered. All of his ribs and chest plate are broken or shattered. He also has three broken spots in his skull and they broke inward. He has brain damage done to his eyes, speech and the nerves that control his right hand. Willow said he would be blind when he woke up and he might not be able to talk and his right hand might not work. Giles said it could take six months before he's healed."

"At least six months if he's just getting pig's blood. It could take years to fully recover from it. He needs something stronger."

"Drusilla's blood, but we can't just have Drusilla walking around here. I was wondering if my blood would work for Spike like it helped you."

"It wouldn't help right away. With me I was just poisoned with Spike he's seriously injured, gravely injured to be accurate he could still die from his injuries. Your blood would help to make him stronger, but you would need something else to help it make it stronger, you need family blood. Can he bite?"

"No he's not strong enough to. What do you mean family blood?"

"I could give him some of my blood to boost the blood you give him. If he gets enough of it during the next week he could be fully healed or close enough to it to reverse the broken bones and brain damage."

"He could be back to normal in a week?" Buffy asked surprised that it would be that quick.

"He'll still have a few broken bones and bruising, but the serious injuries will be taken care of. I have some of my own blood in packages in case I was ever badly injured, my blood is powerful and works to heal better. I can come up there tonight and give him some of my blood and you can use the packages for the rest of the week. I can't stay I have a lot going on right now down here, but I could be there tonight and you can fill me in on everything."

"Ok what do I do in the mean time? Should I give him some of my blood?"

"I can't tell you what to do Buffy. I can tell you that Spike could still die from those injuries. You have to figure out the rest for yourself. I'll leave as soon as I can and be there tonight."

"Ok thanks Angel I'll see you tonight." Buffy said as she made up her mind on what she was going to do.

Buffy ended the call and took a deep breath before she went back into the living room to hear everyone arguing.

"I've been gone for two minutes." Buffy said annoyed.

"Everything would have been fine until Captain America over here decided it would be more humane to kill Spike now that he is not useful to anyone." Xander said with anger.

"When an animal is injured and no longer useful you put it down." Riley said.

"He's not an animal." Joyce said.

"He doesn't have a soul, a heartbeat or breathes he's a walking dead animal Joyce." Riley said back in a condescending tone.

"Dogs don't have souls that doesn't mean you can go around killing them for fun." Giles said even he was appalled at the idea that Riley was suggesting.

"People use normal animals all the time for scientific experiments. If the results can help humans then there is no reason not to do it." Riley said back.

"Ok that's enough we're not killing Spike. The only one who gets to decide when Spike is staked is me. It doesn't matter anyways because I've figured out a way to make Spike heal within a week." Buffy said.

"How?" Giles asked interested.

"I called Angel he said that his blood is family blood so it will do the trick to help Spike heal. Plus I guess because he's so old it's stronger that way too. He keeps packages of his own blood in the freezer in case he gets injured so he's going to bring some and if we give that to Spike plus human blood for the week he'll be healed up" Buffy answered.

"Completely?" Joyce asked.

"No Angel said he'll still have bruising and he'll be sore and he may have a few broken bones still. But he will be seventy-five percent back to normal health."

"That's good though he can fight with that he has in the past before. So when do we take on Glory then?" Xander asked.

"I don't know. I don't know how long it takes a Hell God to heal, but she's going to be pissed when she is healed up and ready for a fight." Buffy said.

"She's either going to be pissed off and try to come after Spike again to kill him or she's going to work on something to make him pay that will take time. " Xander said.

"We won't know until something happens. We need to be prepared for either option right now." Giles said.

"We need more information. There has to be more out there on her than what the Council has been able to find." Buffy said.

"I could try the demon world, but Spike would have more luck on that then I would." Anya said.

"It's worth a try." Buffy said.

Riley's phone went off and he pulled it out. He saw that there was a text message and he read it before he spoke.

"I have to go. I'll come back tonight and we can come up with a plan then."

"You don't have to be here if you can't make it. It's not a big deal Angel is just going to give Spike blood." Buffy said with a shrug.

"Ya then there will be two vampires in this house. I'll be back just after sunset. I love you." Riley said as he kissed Buffy on her cheek before he headed out of the house.

"Ya because Riley being here is really going to keep Angel and Spike in line." Xander said sarcastically once the door was closed.

"What did you have to do to convince Angel to come down?" Willow asked.

"Nothing he offered. Apparently family is family." Buffy said.

"He knows that Spike has the chip I had called to inform him of that shortly after Thanksgiving. He knows that Spike has been helping you; that might have something to do with it as well." Giles said.

"Well I don't care either way he is going to be here tonight to give Spike blood." Buffy said.

"What is the other part you were hiding from Riley I'm assuming?" Joyce asked.

"How do you even know that I'm hiding something?" Buffy said calmly.

"Because you are my daughter. There's something else that needs to happen in order for Spike to be healed in a week, what is it?" Joyce asked calmly.

"Angel said that Spike is gravely injured, that he could die at any minute still with his injuries. There's something I can do to keep Spike alive until Angel gets here tonight and I'm going to do it. Riley wouldn't understand and I'm not looking to get into another argument. I need Spike alive to help me fight Glory and after what he just did for me I owe him that much to keep him alive." Buffy said.

"Buffy what is it?" Joyce asked calmly.

"Spike needs to drink my blood. It will help him heal and keep him alive long enough for Angel to get here when he can give his blood to Spike."

"Is that dangerous?" Joyce asked with concern.

"Buffy the last time Angel bit you, you almost died." Willow said with concern.

"This time will be different. Spike isn't going to bit me, he's not strong enough anyways. I can cut my wrist and he can drink it from there. With my healing the cut will close up and I'll be fine in an hour."

"Buff, are you sure about this?" Xander asked.

"Look I know it's not ideal here, but if I can keep him alive long enough for Angel to get here then I'm going to do it." Buffy said with a strong voice.

"I think if it keeps him alive then you should." Tara said calmly.

"Giles?" Buffy asked.

"It's your decision. I don't ever want a vampire drinking from you, but this is an unusual and extreme situation. Spike is currently our best chance at stopping Glory before she tries to end the world. I would give him my blood if I thought it would help. You have to do what you feel is right Buffy." Giles simply said.

"Ya I mean if you aren't going to let him bite your neck I don't think it'll be that dangerous. He is really injured I doubt he would be able to do much anyways." Xander said.

"Mom?" Buffy asked not wanting to upset her mother.

"He saved my life and Dawn's life yesterday. I'm not about to stop you from doing something that could save his life. Just be careful." Joyce said with concern.

"I'll be fine, like I said he's only going to get a cut on my wrist. Just enough to keep him alive until Angel gets here." Buffy reassured her mother.

"Then I will work on making some breakfast for everyone." Joyce said.

"We'll come help." Tara said and her and Willow headed into the kitchen to help Joyce.

"I'll be down when I'm done." Buffy said to the others before she went upstairs.

Buffy went into her room and grabbed one of the knives she kept there before she went into the guest bedroom. She went in and saw that Spike was still shaking and sweating. It was clear that he was in a great deal of pain and Buffy couldn't say she blamed him. He was gravely injured and he desperately needed stronger blood than pig or human. Buffy went over and sat down on the edge of the bed facing Spike. She moved her hand and brought her wrist under Spike's nose as she spoke.

"I don't even know if you can hear me or if you can feel anything other than pain right now. But just in case, you don't have to be scared. You're in my house and you're safe for now. Angel is coming down tonight and he's going to give you some of his blood so you can be all healed up. I'm going to get you there I promise. The least I can do is keep you alive after what you just did for me and my family. Just hang on Spike I got something that will help you feel better."

Buffy took her left hand and turned it so her wrist was facing her. She then used her right hand to hold the knife and she made a deep cut going across her left wrist. Spike turned his head the instant he smelt her blood, but he didn't change into his game face. Buffy put the knife down and she brought her wrist up to Spike's mouth. Spike opened his mouth slightly and the blood dripping into his mouth. Once it hit his tongue that was all his demon needed and he started to lick and suck as much blood as Spike could get out of the cut. Buffy let Spike drink from her for a few minutes until she felt like she was getting dizzy before she slowly pulled her wrist back. Spike wanted to fight against it, but he was too weak to truly put up much of a fight. Buffy grabbed some of the gauze that was in the first aid kit and wrapped her wrist as she spoke.

"I know you want more, but I can't give anymore right now. Angel will be here tonight and he'll give you blood to make you strong again. You're going to be ok."

Spike slowly moved two fingers on his left hand and Buffy gently reached down and held onto his hand with her right hand.

"It's okay. Spike if you can hear me and understand me it's ok. You're safe."

Buffy held onto Spike's hand for a few minutes before she needed to eat something to make up for the blood loss. Buffy moved off of the bed and out of the room after making sure the sunlight wouldn't come through the curtains. She headed downstairs to see everyone in the kitchen helping to make breakfast.

"How are you feeling?" Giles asked once Buffy came into the room.

"Nothing a little food and orange juice can't fix." Buffy said with a shrug as she sat down on one of the stools.

"Did it work?" Joyce asked as she poured Buffy a glass of orange juice.

"I hope so. He moved two of his fingers on his left hand afterwards so I'm taking that as a good sign for now."

"Now we just need to keep giving him human blood every couple of hours and it should get him to when Angel arrives." Giles said.

"So all we can do is wait." Willow said sadly.

They all ate breakfast and then went off on their own as they waited for nightfall when Angel would be able to come down and help Spike.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was just after seven at night when Angel had arrived at the house. Everyone had left earlier so it was just Joyce, Dawn, Buffy and Riley in the house with Spike. Everyone had been waiting for Angel to get here as they were hoping he would be able to put to rest the risk of Spike dying. Dawn had been up in the room sitting with Spike while Buffy, Riley and Joyce sat in the living room. Riley was on edge and clearly not happy about Angel coming here. The tension between Riley and Buffy's family and friends was increasing and Buffy knew she would need to do something about it soon or it was all going to blow up. When the knock finally came at the door Buffy got up all too happy to go over and answer it. She opened the door to see Angel standing there. She gave him a smile and a hug as he walked into the house.

"How is he?" Angel asked with concern.

"He's still in bad shape, but he's stronger than he was when I called you." Buffy answered as she closed the door.

Angel went over to the entrance of the living room and saw Joyce and Riley there. Riley was sitting down, but when Angel knocked on the door he stood up and tried to look intimidating.

"Hello Joyce, how are you feeling?" Angel asked politely.

"Better thank-you. I'm just worried about Spike at the moment."

"He'll be better within a week." Angel reassured her.

"I'll take you up to him." Buffy said.

"I'll come with you." Riley said.

"There's no need." Angel said in a deadly tone.

"I'm not leaving my girlfriend upstairs alone with two vampires." Riley said back.

"Your girlfriend is the Slayer she can handle herself. I don't need Spike smelling you." Angel said as he went for the stairs.

"Stay here Riley." Buffy said before she turned and followed Angel up the stairs.

Riley stood there by the stairs with his hands on his hips clearly not happy, but he didn't follow. Buffy went into the guest bedroom with Angel behind her. Dawn was sitting in the chair by the bed doing her homework. Angel saw Spike there on the bed still shaking and struggling with the pain.

"Hey Angel."

"Hey Dawnie."

"Can you give us the room Dawn" Buffy said.

"Ya I'll just go finish this downstairs." Dawn said as she packed up her things and headed out of the room.

Angel went over to the right side of the bed and he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"You don't know if he can hear you?" Angel asked.

"No I just know he can smell me and blood."

Angel moved his right hand and turned it so his wrist was up and placed it underneath Spike's nose.

"If his demon is strong enough it will be able to recognize my smell and hopefully it will wake up enough to bite me." Angel said.

Spike moved his head in the direction of Angel's wrist and Angel could see Spike's left hand trying to move so he could touch him. Angel grabbed Spike's hand gently and gave a soft squeeze.

"His demon is strong enough to recognize my scent. That's a good thing."

"You vampires and your smelling thing is just weird."

"His demon has the same blood as my demon, that's what makes us family, our blood. The demon is just a demon without the man controlling it. Spike has always had exceptional control over his demon it's why he can easily pass as human. Right now the man in Spike is too battered and weak to be able to keep the damaged demon in check. When he does start to get stronger you need to be careful when feeding him. He won't have much control over the demon and once it smells blood it will come forth. Spike's brain damage is what is keeping the demon in check right now. The demon is too weak and afraid to fully come forth. It doesn't understand what is going on. Demons are very good at remembering smells it recognizes us as safe. Even if he doesn't remember you right away he'll know you are safe by your smell. Just like he will know that your boyfriend is not safe just by his smell." Angel explained.

"Riley is safe." Buffy said in Riley's defense.

"Not to our kind, not to Spike. He would kill him in a second if he was up here with him. The demon in Spike knows it. You don't have to be here for this if you don't want to." Angel said.

"What do you have to do? Don't you just need to give him blood?"

"I do."

"Then what's the big deal? Angel I know what you both are. I gave him some of my blood today to keep him alive so you can get here. Unless some weird sexual thing is going to happen I'm not leaving."

"Nothing sexual will ever happen between us. It's not that type of Sire/Childe relationship."

"Sire/ whatdy?" Buffy asked confused.

"Long story. My point is nothing sexual will happen I just need him to bite me."

"How? Is mean is he even strong enough to?"

"He seems strong enough to at least let his fangs down that's all he needs. Once he smells my blood the demon should take over and do what it knows to do." Angel said as he moved his right hand and grabbed the pocket knife that he had brought with him. He brought it up to the right side of his neck and he made a cut deep enough to bleed before he put the put the knife down on the bedside table. Spike moved his head in the direction of the blood and Angel could see he was interested, but he didn't feel his fangs coming out.

Angel moved his right hand and ran his finger over the cut to get blood on his finger. He then gently got Spike to open his mouth by running his finger over Spike's lips before he opened it slightly. He put his finger into Spike's mouth and Spike licked at it to get the blood off. Angel felt Spike's fangs go down and he removed his finger slowly from Spike's mouth. Spike let out a whimper at the loss of the blood his body desperately needed. Angel bent down to give Spike the right side of his neck and he whispered into Spike's ear.

"Bite my Childe, take Sire's blood." Angel said in his Sire voice and he instantly felt Spike weakly bite into his neck where the cut was.

He was just strong enough to get his fangs into Angel's neck. He felt Spike take slow long pulls of his blood and he allowed him to take as much as his own body could handle. After five minutes Angel started to feel dizzy so he whispered to Spike once again.

"Enough Childe." Angel said in his Sire voice and Spike instantly retracted his fangs and lightly licked the holes closed.

Angel moved his head back and Spike subconsciously laid his head down so his face was facing the right leaving the left side of his neck exposed in a submissive offer. Angel went and gently rubbed the old scar from his Sire claim on Spike's neck.

"Is he going to be okay now?" Buffy asked sill slightly worried.

"I brought enough of my blood for you to give it to him twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. I also brought some human blood for you to give him throughout the day, every four hours. You make sure he drinks the blood and sleeps he will be seventy-five percent healed up within the next seven days. He should wake up and start talking again in about three days. I don't know what his mind will be like though. It'll be the first to repair itself, but he might still have problems seeing for a week or two afterwards and his right hand might shake every now and then too for a little while. Within three weeks he will be one hundred percent again and more than ready for a fight."

"Good I really need him in this fight. Ever fight a Hell God before?"

"No I can honestly say I haven't. I got Wesley to do some research for you. He has some older books that the Council doesn't have access to and once Spike is feeling better you should get him to speak to the demon community."

"Ya Anya suggested the same thing. Did Wesley find out anything?" Buffy asked with hopefulness.

"He found out that she can summon any demon she wants from a Hell dimension, but only for twenty-four hours after that they go back. Her power can only hold that long."

"Well good to know. What does a Hell dimension demon look like?"

"They are the demons that are the most pure evil that the ruler of that Hell dimension refuses to let cross through the portal and into another dimension. Essentially they are the army of that Hell dimension and they love torture and violence. Even with only twenty-four hours one of those demons could kill a hundred thousand people easily."

"So not good. Great anything else?"

"Just the same information you found out. She wants to go back home and needs the Key that she believes you are protecting. She doesn't know anything more than the fact that the Key is human. The Key was made by Monks and sent it to you to protect. Wesley thinks it must be someone new in your life and this person wouldn't even know they are the Key. They would have fake memories and those memories would become yours if you have a past history with that person. Do you know who the Key is?" Angel asked as he continued to rub his thumb along Spike's neck

"Ya I found out."

"Who is it?"

"Dawn." Buffy answered just softly enough for a vampire to hear her and not Riley who was currently standing on the outside of the door thinking they didn't know he was there for the past five minutes.

There was shock on Angel's face for a moment before he spoke.

"What do you want boy?" Angel asked directing his question to Riley.

Riley came around the corner and acted like he had just walked up the stairs and stood in the doorway.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Buffy, your mom is just worried she's wondering how everything is going up here." Riley said calmly like he wasn't eavesdropping onto their conversation. At the smell of Riley Spike started to shake and move around on the bed.

"Everything is fine we're just about finished with Spike. Why don't you go tell her and we'll be down in a minute." Buffy answered tightly.

"Is he okay? He seems to be in a lot of pain still." Riley asked trying to get a good look at Spike, but Angel moved to block most of his view as he bent down to whisper into Spike's ear.

"It's okay my Childe I won't let him hurt you. Calm down." Angel said in a gentle voice. The voice stopped Spike from moving around, but he was still shaking slightly.

"He's fine just in pain still. Angel's blood will help him be better by the end of the week. Go tell Mom for me please." Buffy said again.

"Oh ya sure thing baby." Riley said clearly not happy that he didn't get to stay, but he turned around and went back down the stairs.

"He's never reacted that way to Riley before." Buffy said with worry.

"It's okay he's gone." Angel whispered to Spike as he continued to rub his neck to calm him down again before he spoke to Buffy. "Not that he would ever show you, but this isn't just Spike, this is a demon, a very powerful demon. Normally Spike wouldn't show how much he hates a smell or the feel of someone. Do you ever see Spike close to Riley by choice? Ever see him move further into a room to put as much space between the two of them?"

"Ya I guess. I mean when they are in the same room I usually make sure they aren't beside each other, because Riley doesn't like him. And with Spike not being able to fight back I don't want him to get hit by Riley."

"Spike is doing it on purpose because of the smell and feel of Riley. Spike's senses are stronger than mine and I have a century plus on him. He's always had strong senses. If he tells you something or someone doesn't feel right take his word for it. Riley would smell like the Initiative to Spike and to the demon that is a place that hurt him, damaged him so he wouldn't like the smell even more than Spike."

"We don't really know everything that happened to Spike while he was there. Never asked him about that stuff and he never volunteered any information, but I can't say I blame him."

"Spike isn't going to share unless he is asked. He's an emotional vampire he fought to keep his human emotions and that makes him a rare breed. He'll talk about it, he always talks, he talks so much he'll actually write. You'll never have to wonder what he is feeling or thinking because he will tell you. Emotional pain though, things about his time as a human are not things he will easily share. But if you are patient and ask at the right time he will tell you."

Spike began to make a nose and Buffy couldn't help the huge smile on her face. "Is he purring?"

"It's a demon thing. You could call it purring." Angel said nonchalantly.

"Do you purr? You've never purred around me."

"I don't purr it's not my demon's style." Angel said offended.

"But it's his demon's style?"

"Some demons purr when their Sire or Lover touches their mark long enough."

"So then why do some do it and other's don't?"

"It's a complicated and long story. Just don't tell anyone he does it or he'll be mad. We should join the others downstairs I have to be back tonight." Angel said as he moved his hand away from Spike's neck and got up off the bed.

He grabbed the bag he brought with him as Buffy spoke.

"Oh is it really busy?" Buffy asked trying not to sound annoyed that once again Angel didn't tell her anything.

"It's been pretty busy. I think your Hell God is scaring away some of the tourists and they are coming to play in my city." Angel said as they headed out of the room.

"Oh sorry about that." Buffy said, but not really apologetic about it.

They headed down the stairs and into the living room.

"How is he?" Joyce asked.

"He's going to be fine Joyce. I have blood for him to drink and as long as Buffy does as I explained he will be awake and talking in three days." Angel answered.

"That's wonderful. Giles was saying it could take months before that happens. I don't understand all this difference in the blood thing and I don't care. I'm just so happy you came down and did this for him. It means a lot to me. Thank-you Angel." Joyce said as she went to give Angel a hug.

Angel was always awkward with hugs and he gently gave Joyce a hug before she moved back with a smile on her face.

"It's no problem he's family and he's fighting for the good guys now. He's a strong fighter to have on your side."

"I thought you two hated each other. Buffy was telling me how he tortured you less than a year ago." Riley said.

"Family always has problems along the way. He didn't actually torture me he had someone else do it. Spike was never one for torture. And in all fairness to him he owed me a lot more than one over the years." Angel said trying to keep the hurt at his own actions out of his voice.

"Angel was able to find out a little bit more information on Glory at least." Buffy said to quickly change the topic.

"Anything we can use?" Riley asked.

"She can summon any demon she wants from any Hell dimension, but they can only survive for twenty-four hours. The problem is within those twenty-four hours it could kill the whole city. So not good." Buffy said.

"We should just get the Initiative involved. We can have a squad go after her and capture her to bring back to the base where we can then figure out how to kill her." Riley said.

"Ya that's what we need a secret Government Agency that likes to experiment on demons and vampires getting their hands on a Hell God. A world of no." Buffy said.

"Maggie is no longer in charge it's different now." Riley said.

"And how would you know? You said you haven't been working there. You said you were just working as a T.A again." Buffy said.

"I've been down there a few times now helping out. They needed help training new soldiers. I might not have the enhancement drugs in me, but that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing or capable of fighting off demon and vampires. The new General is a good man and he is looking for me to come back full time. I haven't given him an answer yet." Riley said with a shrug like it was no big deal.

"And are you going to go back?" Buffy asked clearly getting upset.

"I'm considering it. It's my choice Buffy."

"You would go back there after everything that happened? You would go back to torturing demons and vampires, defenseless demons and vampires? You would actually do that knowing how I feel about it?" Buffy didn't know if she was more hurt or angry at Riley in this moment.

"I have to put up with your job the least you could do is put up with mine. What we do is run experiments and try and find a scientific break-through to help people. They are just animals who hunt and kill people it's no different than what you do only my job has a purpose. You're just a hunter." Riley said with anger.

"A hunter? Are you kidding me right now! I'm Heaven's Chosen One. I got picked out of everyone in the world to protect it. I've dead protecting it, literally died. I've stopped apocalypses while you have been running around in packs Tasering vampires and demons behind their backs like cowards. That's the only reason you could even take Spike down. You snuck up behind him and Tasered him because you couldn't handle a fight against him even with twenty men on your side. My job is the one with purpose, it's a calling and I don't have a say in whether I do it or not. Your job is just a sad excuse to torture defenseless creatures." Buffy said with anger.

"Get out of here boy." Angel said with a deadly tone.

"This isn't your house vampire." Riley hissed back.

"No, but that is my Childe up there and you're upsetting him with your emotions. Get out before I throw you out." Angel said in a deadly tone again.

"Get out Riley. I'll call you if I need you." Buffy said emphasising the word if.

"Fine pick your vampires over me again." Riley hissed out with anger before he headed for the door and slammed it shut.

Buffy let out a huff of anger before she spoke.

"Is Spike ok?" Buffy asked Angel.

"He's calming down. Spike's always had strong senses like I said. The emotions down here stirred him up a bit, but he'll calm down now that soldier boy isn't here." Angel said with anger.

"I am not happy about this Buffy. I know he is your boyfriend, but he has no right to talk to you like that. If he is getting back involved with that Initiative you shouldn't be around him or let him around Spike." Joyce said.

"I know and I won't. Hopefully he calms down and we can have a civil conversation about it, but we just have different opinions so I don't see that happening." Buffy said with a huff.

"He's lucky Spike has that chip in his head. If he didn't soldier boy would be in serious trouble." Angel said.

"He would go after Riley?" Joyce asked calmly.

"Not the way he is now. Spike has always been different he's never had that blood lust. Angelus and Drusilla made him turn darker than his nature. Once he was away from the both of them he changed even before the chip. Spike wouldn't go after Riley or any of those other soldier boys. But if they started something with him he wouldn't hesitate to kill them. If it's his life or someone else's he'll always made it theirs. Spike is loyal though and if Buffy told him not to kill someone he won't. Like it or not he considers Buffy, Dawn and yourself his girls. He'll die to protect you and do anything for you. He's loyal to a fault because right or wrong he will stand by you one hundred percent. It's just who he is." Angel answered honestly.

"So as long as he isn't influenced by Angelus or Drusilla he wouldn't go back to killing if he didn't have the chip anymore?" Buffy asked trying to sound casual and calm.

"Even if either of them came back he wouldn't go back to killing. The three of you is what keeps him grounded. He was never evil to begin with it wasn't until the family got a hold of him did he become evil because Angelus made him worthy of the blood in him. Spike was a vampire for a month before he even killed his first person. He was drinking animal blood for the month. He never had the blood lust. Drusilla was insane and when she used her thrall to kill him, she buried him and then forgot about it until two weeks later. Spike crawled out of the ground and went home to take care of his sick and dying mother. With the exception of needing blood he was just a normal person. He's the rarest vampire in history. He doesn't have a chip anymore does he." Angel said as he looked right at Buffy.

"It came out during the fight. His brain was injured in the part that the chip had been implanted. I didn't tell anyone yet." Buffy answered.

"She's debating if she should tell Spike or not." Joyce said clearly not happy about it still.

"You have to tell him Buffy. Spike always keeps his word and he would tell you if the situation was reversed. You need to tell him so he can defend himself against them."

"I know I just don't know how the others are going to handle it. The only reason they tolerate him being around is because he can't hurt them. Once they find out he doesn't have a chip anymore there's no telling what could happen."

"You need to tell them and him. You also need to tell him what the hell is going on. He's going to have a Hell God after him now too. You said he hurt her; she's not going to let that go. He needs to be prepared for what could happen."

"I know I'll tell him. I'm just not looking forward to the mess that all of this is going to bring."

"They will get over it. Spike wouldn't hurt anyone I believe that and deep down so do you." Joyce said.

"I know I just want him better so he can be ready to defend himself for when Glory comes back." Buffy said.

"He'll be waking up within three days. Just remember he's going to be confused and a little out of it for a day or so. Just be patient and he'll be fine." Angel reassured Buffy.

"Are you leaving now?" Joyce asked.

"I need to get back to L.A we're having our own problems right now. Call me if you need anything and I'll come back." Angel answered.

"Thank-you for coming I really appreciated it." Buffy said honestly.

"He's family. Let me know what happens with Glory. I'll have Wesley continue to do some research and I'll let you know if we find anything." Angel said.

"That would be great thanks." Buffy said.

"Goodnight Joyce."

"Goodnight Angel and thank-you again." Joyce said back.

"Goodnight Buffy."

"Goodnight Angel."

Angel headed out of the house and back to his car so he could head back to L.A, Buffy went into the living room and sat down on the chair while her mother was sitting down on the couch.

"You need sleep Sweetie. Spike is going to be fine you should get some sleep in your bed." Joyce said as she saw how tired Buffy was.

"No I want to stay in the room still. He needs to eat every four hours Angel said. I need to put that blood in the fridge."

"He wouldn't want you to be exhausted Buffy. He would want you to take care of yourself." Joyce said gently.

"I know I just, I just don't know what to think anymore." Buffy said with confusion in her voice.

"Don't know about what Sweetie?" Joyce asked gently again.

"First there's the whole Riley and the Initiative thing. Then there is the whole Spike didn't kill until Angelus and Drusilla got a hold of him a month later. And then finally if Spike doesn't need a soul to be loyal and feeling love and other emotions then why couldn't Angelus love me like Angel did? I just…I just feel like everything I know about my world and vampires are just falling apart."

"I think for Riley you need to listen to your heart and do what you feel is right no matter how much it might hurt. As for the rest maybe you should talk to Giles and see if he can do some research on Spike so you would have a better background on him. Or better yet you could try asking him."

"Angel said that I could ask Spike anything and he'll tell me. Angel isn't like that. He doesn't like talking about things that have to do with being a vampire. When he's in better shape I'll ask him and see what he says. I don't think Giles knows that Spike didn't come out of the ground a blood thirsty killer."

"Talk to Spike first Sweetie because if you go to Giles first and Spike finds out you didn't come to him he'll be upset and rightfully so. Any questions you might have about being a Slayer or this life you could ask Spike about it or Giles they might have different answers for you. I don't know what to tell you. The mother answer would be for you to do what is right by your own heart and what you won't regret later on in life."

"I just wish I knew what that was. I'll talk to Spike maybe he has more insight into the lives of Slayers. He did kill two of them. If nothing else he might talk more than Angel would or Giles. I'm gonna head up. I'll put the blood in the fridge and then get some sleep."

"I'm going to bed too. Goodnight Sweetie." Joyce said as she got up from the couch.

Buffy got up from the chair and gave her mom a good night hug as she spoke.

"Night Mom."

Buffy grabbed the bag of blood and went into the kitchen and put it away in the fridge before she headed up the stairs. She poked her head into the room holding Spike and he was still sound asleep. She decided to take a quick shower and get changed before she would lay down and try to get some sleep herself before she would wake up Spike for some blood again. Buffy took a quick shower and go changed into some sweats and a tank top. She went into the guest bedroom and she was going to sleep in the chair again, but she decided against it. She set her phone for three hours from now so she could give Spike more blood. She then grabbed the covers and she crawled under them and put them over Spike. She was careful of his injuries and she curled into his right shoulder and closed her eyes.

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It had been three days since Angel had been by to give Spike his blood. Three days since she had even spoken to Riley. She didn't know what she was going to do about it and she didn't want to make a rash decision. She had decided to stay with him after he went to the vamp whorehouse despite what she felt about it. She didn't want to throw away their relationship and she was worried that she wouldn't find another man that would be able to handle what she was. Riley was different he knew of the life and he was okay with it. Buffy just didn't want to have to handle all of this right now. She had a Hell God to try and kill the last thing she wanted was to deal with Riley and his problems with Spike or her calling.

She had spent the majority of the past three days sitting in the room with Spike. Everyone had been by to check in and see him, but she didn't tell them about his chip yet. She was just going to wait and see how he got better first. She knew she was putting it off, but she couldn't help it right now. She had enough to worry about she didn't want to cause a fight. She figured she would wait until Spike was better before she brought it up. Over the past three days Spike had gotten slightly better. He was no longer shaking and he didn't seem to have a fever anymore. The bruising on his face wasn't getting better, but on his stomach it seemed to be getting slightly better from the internal damage. His right arm looked like it was mending and his skull was almost back to normal. Buffy had no idea how the damage on the inside of his head was healing and he had yet to wake up. Buffy had barely left the room except to eat and to shower and change. She was still sleeping in the bed with Spike, because she didn't want to leave him alone. Helping Spike heal was something she could do for him. She could be helpful here for Spike and she found that she just wanted him to wake up and annoy her again. She had never thought much about Spike other than he was just there as extra muscle or for someone to beat up on when she was pissed off. It had started to make her feel bad seeing Spike here in her house lying on the bed seriously injured because he chose to protect her family. She knew she needed to treat him better. Spike didn't seem like he was going to be going anywhere, anytime soon and she knew she needed to be nicer to him. He deserved her loyalty as she had his and she didn't even do much for it. There was more to Spike then they had all been lead to believe and Buffy found herself wanting to know more about him.

Buffy was sitting down in the chair when Spike made a groan. Buffy got out of the chair and went over to Spike as Spike slowly started to open his eyes. Buffy could see that they were glossed over and he couldn't really see out of them yet. Buffy saw the panic and pain on Spike's face and she quickly spoke.

"Spike, it's okay calm down it's okay." Buffy said in what she was hoping would come across as a calm and gentle voice.

"Buffy?" Spike's voice came out very weak and hoarse, but she could hear the fear in it. Something she had never heard from Spike before. He was always the one to cause fear in people without even trying. She had never thought he would ever get scared.

Buffy moved so she could hold onto his left hand as she spoke.

"It's me I'm right here. You're safe." Buffy said gently.

Spike started to move around as the pain picked up and he had a wheezing sound to his breathing.

"It's hurts. I can't see, why I can't I see?" Spike asked weakly and it was clear he was in a lot more pain than Angel would have expected.

"It's okay Spike you were just hurt. I know it hurts but it won't in a couple of days."

"I don't understand. I can't remember." Spike said with panic to his voice as his breathing picked up.

"Spike, listen to me listen to my voice. It's okay, you are going to be okay. You can feel my touch, you can smell my scent. You know where you are. You know you are in my house and you know I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. You are safe. You will remember what happened later you just need sleep. I got something that will help with the pain ok just hang on." Buffy said gently.

She knew she shouldn't be doing this again, but he was just in so much pain and injured. She knew she could help him heal and get stronger and she needed him to be stronger. She grabbed the knife and she cut her left wrist again. She then brought it up to Spike's mouth and he could instantly smell it as he fangs dropped. Buffy could see him fighting his demon even in his weakened state and Buffy couldn't help, but be shocked by it. She moved her wrist over to Spike's mouth as she spoke.

"It's okay Spike drink my blood. I'm giving you permission it's okay."

"You would never let me. I don't understand. It hurts too much to think."

"Then don't think just drink Spike please. You need it. Trust me." Buffy said in a pleading voice and she was hoping it would work to get Spike to do as she asked.

She slowly felt his tongue on her wrist and she pushed it gently against his mouth. He began to take slow pulls of her blood and Buffy couldn't help but notice the tingle she got in her body that she didn't the last time. She didn't even notice it when Spike ever so gently slipped his fangs into her wrist to get more blood once the cut had closed up. She could feel herself getting wetter and wetter and she had no idea why, but she was so turned on in this moment she didn't even know what to do with herself. She thought she was going to explode when she felt Spike releasing his fangs and licking her wound closed. He placed a soft and gentle kiss to her wrist before he fell back asleep. Buffy moved her left hand and she gently rubbed the right side of Spike's face. She was still turned on and wet, but the desire was no longer there. She knew she would need to ask Spike about it at another time. I would be an awkward conversation, but she was hoping she could work her way around it so it would seem like she wasn't asking about herself. After a few minutes she pulled herself back and she decided she was tired so she went around to the other side of the bed and just curled up beside Spike and fell asleep.

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It wasn't until two days later when Spike woke up again. His body told him it was dark out and he felt something warm next to him. He turned his head slowly to see a head of blonde hair that was distinctive of Buffy. He also got a clear scent of her and he looked around slightly. He was under the covers and he wasn't wearing a shirt. Spike tried to look around. He could see, but he couldn't see as well as he used to. He could see the doorway, but after that it was all blurry. He had a headache pounding behind his eyes and in his head so he knew he had been hit pretty hard. He tried to think back to the last thing he could remember. He remembered waking up and not being able to see anything. He remembered being in a great deal of pain. He could remember the fear and panic he felt. He then remembered that Buffy had given him some of her blood. He could also feel Angel's blood going through him as well, which was surprising and welcoming at the same time. He tried to move his right hand but as it was off the bed slightly it shook and he had to put it back down. He could still feel a few broken ribs and his jaw was sore, but he didn't feel anything missing at least. He was exhausted and he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, but he wanted to know what the hell was going on. He didn't recognize this room, but he knew the smell was Buffy's house. He didn't know why Buffy was sleeping next to him either, but he really didn't want to wake her up. Her warmth felt good beside him. It had been over a century since he had slept next to someone with warmth. Spike knew that they were supposed to hate each other, but he just couldn't hate her. He had developed feelings for her out of nowhere and he had done his best to hide them from her and everyone else. It wasn't natural and he knew that she would never trust him or like him like that. Not after Angel. So he had to settle for watching her back and keeping her safe. He should be waking her up right now and getting some answers, but he was too tired to even care right now. He slowly rolled over onto his right side and was pleased when it didn't hurt too much. He draped his left arm over Buffy's stomach and closed his eyes and allowed her warmth to warm his cool body up.

It wasn't until the next morning did Buffy start to wake up. The first thing she noticed was that she was curled up against a solid chest and an arm was draped over her stomach. For a moment she forgot where she was and who she was curled up against and just let herself enjoy the feel of being held. She couldn't help but notice how well she fit into his chest. Spike wasn't as big as Riley or Angel and she always felt so small in their arms. With Spike they were more evenly matched. He was bigger than her, but not overly bigger than her. She just felt right against him a thought that scared the hell out of her. She was also happy to see that Spike had rolled over so he was at least able to move. It had been six days now of him healing and now he seemed to be in better shape. Buffy opened her eyes and she looked up at Spike to see his sleeping face. Buffy reached her hand up and gently touched the side of his face. Spike took a deep breath in before he slowly opened his eyes to see Buffy looking back at him.

"Hey." Buffy said softly.

"Hey yourself." Spike said softly back with exhaustion still in his voice.

"Your eyes are better." Buffy said with a smile.

"Ya I can see now, sort of."

"How bad is your eye sight?" Buffy asked with a slight worry to her voice.

"About as good as it was when I was human. I don't miss that." Spike said dryly.

"You had to wear glasses when you were human? Did they even have glasses that long ago?"

"That long ago? How old do you think I am?" Spike asked with a chuckle.

"Well I don't know when glasses were invented. That's a Willow thing, not a Buffy thing."

"They were invented and yes I had to wear glasses. They were gold wired and I hated wearing them."

"Gold wired? As in real gold?" Buffy asked shocked.

"Yup, costed two hundred dollars back then. Now you can't even get plastic glasses for that price. But back then two hundred dollars was about two thousand dollars now a days."

"Wow. You came from a rich family?" Buffy asked not even bothered by how close they still were.

"I did even to this day it would be considered rich."

"What was that like to be a rich Victorian Englishman?"

"Boring actually. It involved a lot of stuffy parties where I was not popular in."

"Why not?"

"Why the sudden interest Pet? Our conversations before haven't gone past do this or I stake you." Spike said lightly, but Buffy could hear the undertone of hurt to his voice.

"I know, but it was wrong for me to treat you like that. You don't have to tell me anything I know, but I was curious."

"I don't have a problem talking about it Luv, just not real sure what is going on right now. All I remember is pain and then waking up beside you cuddled into me. So either I've died and somehow ended up in Heaven or I've missed out on something important."

"You think this is Heaven?" Buffy asked with warmth in her voice and shock.

"I'm lying next to a beautiful woman curled up in my arms. I can't imagine anything better right now. But considering I can hear your neighbors arguing about the bloke leaving the toilet seat up again I'm going to assume I'm still in Sunnyhell and I have missed something bloody important."

"You've missed out on a lot of something important and that was my fault. I kept you in the dark about something important and it got you hurt. I'm sorry I shouldn't have kept you in the dark. I don't want you to worry about what happened right now just relax. I promise I'll tell you everything later."

"It must have been bad for you and Angel to give me blood. How long have I been out?"

"Today is the sixth day that you've been here. You didn't wake up for the first three days. You were in a lot of pain and really out of it. You couldn't see at all and I gave you more of my blood."

"I remember that vaguely."

"You were really hurt. I've never seen you afraid before." Buffy said softly.

"Ya let's just keep that part between us eh Luv." Spike said slightly embarrassed.

"I won't tell. Your Big Bad persona is safe with me. So getting back on track why were you an outcast?"

"Back in my time if your family was rich you didn't really do the whole school thing. You went until what you consider grade six. We didn't call it that, but once you were twelve you didn't go to school. If you were female you were focused on finding a mate and settling down. Parents would set up their boys with suitable girls to wed them off. The males would then work for the family business. It's just how it was back then. My Pop died while my Mum was pregnant with me. Back then if your husband died you were a widow for life. You didn't date or get remarried it went against the belief in the church. Growing up with just a Mum put me as an outcast and then I didn't stop going to school. I went all the way through to University and got a degree. All of which made me very unpopular and peculiar among my social circle."

"You have a degree? In what?"

"I went to Oxford University and received a Masters in English and a B.A in Art."

"Shut up! You have a Masters degree." Buffy said with a smile on her face.

"This stays between us you are aware of that right?"

"Ya, ya, ya it stays between us don't worry I won't tell anyone that you are actually intelligent or that you purr." Buffy said with a smile.

"You shut up right now. I do not purr." Spike said in a serious voice, but Buffy could see the twitches of a smile on his face.

"You so do. I heard you purring when Angel was rubbing your scar, which by the way he wouldn't tell me why and he got really offended when I asked if he did it too."

"He doesn't do it and he would get offended by that. He spends too much time trying to fight his human side and his demon side against each other."

"So why do you purr?"

"It only happens when family or a lover rubs it for a while. It's a demon thing and it only works if the vampire doesn't fight his demon. My demon and human half live in harmony so every now and then it purrs if I'm that deeply asleep. It's rare and with being injured my demon took over slightly."

"Hm well I guess that makes sense. So does that mean if I rub your scar you'll start purring?" Buffy asked with a smirk.

"You're my lover now? Bloody hell I have missed out on a lot." Spike said with a smirk.

"I am not your lover nor will I ever be." Buffy said with a pointed look.

"Then no purring for you or any other trick that would make your eyes roll into the back of your head with intense pleasure."

"I guess I'm just going to have to settle for normal sex." Buffy said with a smile.

"Normal sex is code for boring sex Luv and that is a bloody shame."

"Moving on. What did you do once you graduated your fancy University?"

"I wrote a lot and I worked at an art gallery helping them with purchases. I didn't have to work we were rich, but I wanted to do something until my Mum got sick and I had to take care of her."

"What did she get sick with?" Buffy asked gently.

"TB, but back then it was known as consumption. It was assumed that someone who smoked and drank too much caused them to be sick. There was no cure for it and with the rainy wet weather of England it only made her lungs worse. She died not long after I did."

"But you were there for her while she died." Buffy said already knowing that from Angel.

"That's a story for another day Luv."

"Fair enough." Buffy said as she snuggled into Spike's chest and Spike held her closer to him. After a moment Buffy spoke. "So how rich were you?"

Spike smiled at the question before he spoke. "Stupidly rich, like old dirty aunt money rich."

"I have no idea what that means." Buffy said with a chuckle.

"Let's just say that I still have the money that comes in from the accounts and I own the estate. Between that and the money I have made in the past century plus, rich like private jet and tropical island rich."

Buffy's head snapped up and looked at Spike before she spoke. "Shut up, you are not that rich."

"I really am. I keep the estate in England in working order with a cleaning company coming in twice a month. If I ever figure out a way to play outside in the sun I would buy a resort on some tropical island with a small jet so I could fly and not have to wait around in airports."

"Ok we need to figure out a way for you to be out in the sun just so I can sit on a tropical island." Buffy said with a smile.

I'll work on that Pet." Spike said with a chuckle.

"Is that even possible? I mean that Gem of Amara is no longer an option I can't imagine there are many other ways a vampire could go outside."

"There are tricks you can do to get around the sun, but most vampires can't be bothered enough to figure it out. I might have to start looking into it."

"I don't suppose there is anything that makes Sayers immortal."

"Not that I've come across Pet, but I'll keep my eyes open for ya."

"You really had us worried Spike. You even had Xander worried." Buffy said in a serious voice.

"I must have been bad. I'll be alright Luv. Still a little weak and banged up but I'll be back to perfect health in a day or two."

"You almost died Spike, because of me." Buffy said sadly.

"I highly doubt that one Luv. I may not remember right now what happened, but I do know that it wasn't your fault. No one makes me fight unless I want to. I don't blame you Luv." Spike said in a serious voice.

"Everyone will be by today and we can go over everything then if you feel up for it."

"I'll be fine Luv."

"I should get up and check in on Mom. You also need some blood in you. We can't stay in bed all day."

"We could do other things besides just laying here in bed together." Spike said with a flirty smirk.

"Oh you must be feeling better." Buffy said with a smile as she sat up. As she sat up the cover moved and Spike was able to see the level of damage done to his torso.

"That's a lot of bruises." Spike said as he looked down at his injuries.

"There was actually more than that before." Buffy said sadly.

Spike moved his right hand so he could feel his ribs, but as he went to touch his ribs his right hand shook again. Spike squeezed it to try and shook it out of it, but when he went to touch his ribs it did it again.

"It's okay Angel said it would go away in a few weeks to. He knows about all of your injuries and he said you would be seventy-five percent better within seven days. It's day six right now so in another week or two you'll be back to one hundred percent. I'll get you some blood and later if you want you can shower, Xander brought over a change of clothes for you from your crypt."

"That is unexpectedly nice of him."

"He was with me when we found you. Like I said he was worried, we all were, but I'll explain later for now you need blood and I need to eat and shower." Buffy said as she reluctantly got out of the bed. She didn't even want to think about what that meant that she didn't want to leave the bed with Spike in it.

She headed down the stairs and into the kitchen to get a mug of blood warmed up for Spike. Joyce smiled at Buffy as she came into the kitchen.

"Morning Sweetie."

"Morning Mom. Spike woke up and he's taking and he can see. Not as well as he normally can, but he can see." Buffy said as she worked on getting Spike some blood.

"That's great Sweetie. Does he remember what happened?"

"No he doesn't remember that. I told him we could talk about it later when everyone got here. I'm hoping he can sleep some more and feel better and maybe that will help with his eye sight and his right hand shakes. He should be one hundred percent though by the end of next week." Buffy said optimistically as she removed the mug from the microwave.

"Good. Do you know what he is planning on doing? Is he leaving today to go back to his crypt?"

"I don't know I haven't talked to him about it. I really don't like the idea of him being there though. Now that Glory knows where he lives, she's going to be coming back to get him. I don't think he should leave until he finds a new place."

"I agree he shouldn't be going anywhere until he is completely healed and he has a new place to live. At least with him here if she shows up again he will be here to help protect us."

"I'll tell him later after I tell him everything else. I'm gonna bring this up to him and then shower and get some breakfast before everyone gets here."

"I'll bring it up to him while you get something to eat Sweetie. I wouldn't mind seeing for myself that he is awake and doing well." Joyce said as she got up off the stool and grabbed the mug from Buffy.

"Ok I'll be up once I'm done eating." Buffy said as she grabbed a bowl for some cereal.

Joyce headed up the stairs and into the guest bedroom. She walked into the guess bedroom and saw that Spike was sitting up slightly against the headboard. He smiled when he saw Joyce walking into the room.

"Hello Mum." Spike said with a smile.

"Hello William. I brought you some blood. I am making Buffy eat something. She gets so thin sometimes it worries me." Joyce said as she walked into the room. She handed Spike the mug of blood before she sat down in the chair.

"Slayers have a very fast metabolism. You'll never find a fat one."

"I know but I still worry. Sometimes she gets too thin even for a Slayer."

"Stress does that to people. Being a college student in general can be stressful but when you combine that with whatever the hell is going on plus being a Slayer. She's going to have times when she is stressed and loses weight and times when she puts it back on. It's normal."

"You know a lot about Slayers right?"

"I do ya. Anything in particular you want to know?" Spike asked as he took a drink from the mug.

"Well I know a normal life is out of the question."

"Depends on your definition of normal I suppose. Will she ever have a nine to five job and never have to fight vampires and demons again? No. But she can still have a normal life. She can still get married, have children, own a business. She wouldn't be the first Slayer to have a family or run a business Mum."

"Really? So she could have a family if she wanted and make something of herself besides what she has to do with her Slayer duties?" Joyce asked with hope.

"Of course she can. She's still a person and she can be whatever she wants to be. She just has to patrol at night to make sure that nothing bad happens. She doesn't just have to be the Slayer she can be an individual too."

"I never even thought she could do both. I always thought that her life, the life of having a family of her own would no longer be possible. She doesn't even believe it either. She's taking courses at college because she thinks she should, but she doesn't even know what she wants to do. She never even imagined she could do something with being a Slayer." Joyce said sadly.

"I'll set her straight. There's a lot she doesn't know about and I'll do what I can to help her. We can get it all figured out in time Mum."

"I'm glad you are in her life and I am thrilled that you are feeling better finally. Thank-you for what you did for Dawn and myself. I know you don't remember, but you saved our lives."

"I'd do it anytime you know that. You're my girls and I always protect my girls. She's upset, she's upset about something more than what has been happening. Did something happen while I was out?" Spike asked with worry.

Joyce let out a heavy sigh and she sat back further into the chair. She was about to answer when she heard Buffy coming up the stairs. Buffy leaned against the door frame and looked at Spike and Joyce before she spoke.

"Everything ok?"

"Everything is fine Pet. Your Mum and me were just chattin'. Did you eat breakfast?" Spike asked.

"Ya I ate some cereal. I'm gonna shower and change. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine Luv stop worrying about old Spike. I'll be ok, I'm not dyin' on ya."

"You better not I went through a lot of trouble to keep you alive. The least you can do is live." Buffy said with a smirk.

"I'll remember that Luv. Go shower and change before all of your friends get here."

"Alright. You two behave." Buffy said with a smile as she pushed off the doorframe and headed down the hallway to her room and then into the bathroom.

"She's been really worried about you. She hasn't left this room all week. She even slept in here." Joyce said.

"I know I woke up to her curled up into me. Can't think of a better way for a bloke to wake up. Thought I'd died and gone to Heaven."

"You love her." Joyce simply stated.

"I thought I was being careful about that." Spike said slightly shocked that Joyce had figured it out.

"You are. She doesn't know and the others don't, but I can tell. The way you protect her and always have her back even when you may think she is wrong. You're a good man even when you want others to think differently. You show the three of us a different side of yourself, your true self. She cares about you. She doesn't want to admit it to herself, but she does care about you. No one spends six days in a room worrying and caring for someone that you don't care about. She's just stressed and worried after the last relationship with a vampire didn't go so well. I know you aren't him but she's just worried and afraid of it happening again."

"I'm not him. I would never hurt her like that."

"I know you wouldn't. Just be patient she'll come around."

"I got all the time in the world. Now what else has been happening?" Spike asked calmly.

"Riley, that is what has been happening. I never thought anyone would be worse than Angel, but he may actually prove me wrong." Joyce said with anger.

"He doesn't deserve her. He has no idea just what he has. What has he done now?" Spike asked with anger.

"For starters he thought we should just kill you because you were going to take too long to heal before we knew Angel would give you blood. He kept calling you an animal and saying how what the Initiative was doing wasn't torture it was experiments for science. He managed to upset everyone in the room. Then we find out that he has been offered a job working back in the new Initiative and he was considering taking it. He completely took Buffy by surprise and he has been acting like her job isn't important. Like she can just quit whenever she wants. That was six days ago and she hasn't spoken to him since."

"He's a bloody idiot. He has no idea what he has and he will never understand just what she is. I want her to be happy, but being with him will only cause her heartache. It's already caused her enough heartache. She doesn't deserve it. She deserves a man that loves her because of who she is and not in spite of it. He'll never be good enough for her."

"I just wish he would understand that this is a hard time for her. He should be supporting her not fighting her on her decisions and being condescending to her and to me might I add. I know very well that you are a vampire. I've known for years now. If you wanted us all dead you would have done it by now. "

"Really would have. How are you feeling? All of this stress isn't good for you." Spike said with concern.

"I'm fine. I'm tired and I am taking it easy. Melissa has been a lot of help with running the Gallery for me while I have been away. I think I will go there tonight just to check in on a few things. We have a major showing next week and I want to be there for it."

"Well if you want to wait until five I can go with you."

"If you are sure you are up for it."

"I'll be fine and I'll feel better knowing that you are not out there by yourself at night just a week after brain surgery."

"I feel just fine, but we can go together I am sure by then you will be itching to get out for a little bit."

"Really will be."

"Well I need to work on some paperwork before everyone gets here and you should rest while you can."

"I'll do just that I promise."

"I'll come and see you later. I'm so happy that you are feeling better William."

"Me too Mum, me too." Spike said with a warm smile.

Joyce headed out of the room and back to her room so she could work on some paperwork. Spike finished his blood and decided to lie down for a bit before he would get up and get showered and changed.

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It wasn't until two in the afternoon did everyone else arrived. Everyone, but Riley came into the living room. Joyce was sitting in the kitchen working on some paperwork, but she was still close enough to be able to hear what they were saying. Dawn was still in school so it was as good as a time as any to be having the conversation that Joyce knew was coming. Buffy had yet to tell the others about Spike's chip no longer being in his head anymore. It was a conversation that couldn't be put off anymore as Spike was now awake and talking again. Once everyone was settled into the living room Xander spoke.

"So how is the fanged wonder doing?"

"Do you really not like him? I mean at all?" Buffy asked calmly slightly unsure of what the answer would be.

"Like is a strong word. I mean I don't hate the guy. I did put up with him in my room for a couple of weeks." Xander said.

"That's not really an answer." Anya said confused.

"Ya I don't know. I don't hate him and I don't like what the army did to him. I don't like what just happened to him. Ya I mean I guess I like him. He's the only guy in my life that I can talk to about what happens after dark. We go out and play pool and have beers that he even pays for. I guess were friends and as much as I would deny I ever said it I would miss him if he wasn't around." Xander said with a shrug as if he just realised it himself.

"And Will, you and Tara both trust Spike right?" Buffy asked slightly nervous.

"Spike is different. His aura has changed over the time that I have known him. I trust him." Tara answered.

"Ya I mean he's not the, I'm gonna kill you guy anymore. He's not so creepy and dark as he used to be. It's been a year since he's gotten his chip I mean if he was going to kill me he would have done it by now." Willow said.

"Why the questions Buffy?" Giles asked.

"There's something you should know about Spike."

Before everyone had arrived Spike had woken up and decided to take a shower before he would go downstairs and stretch his legs. When he stood up he was a little shaky on his legs and his right hand was still shaking whenever he tried to do any fine movements. Spike knew he would get better it was just going to take some time. He grabbed the clean clothes and his socks and boots and headed into the bathroom. He took a nice hot shower before he got out. The bruising was still really bad and he still had a rib or two that was still healing. He was also still in some pain, but he was used to pain. He heard everyone coming into the house and he could hear their conversation. Spike was confusion why Buffy was asking everyone what they thought of him, but he was pleased to hear their answers. He liked Willow and Tara they were good girls. Willow reeked of power and Spike knew it would be something they needed to keep an eye on. Tara was just a sweet girl and he found himself wanting to protect her. Him and Xander did have a weird relationship, but Spike could consider Xander a friend and it made him happy to know that Xander felt the same towards him. He was getting dressed when he noticed that in his pants pocket was a fresh pack of smokes and his lighter. Spike smiled knowing that Xander had done it for him. He froze when he heard the direction the conversation had turned.

"What should we know about Spike?" Giles asked with concern.

"During the fight Spike somehow lost his chip. I saw it in the blood when we moved him." Buffy admitted.

"Wait what? He's back to being a soulless, chipless killer again?" Xander asked with panic.

"He's not back to being a killer." Buffy said in Spike's defense.

"Does he know?" Giles asked.

"No he doesn't know." Buffy said.

"What the hell are we going to do? He could kill us, he could attack us or kill other people." Xander said.

"This does throw a wrench into the plan." Giles said.

"I don't think Spike would go back to killing. His aura has changed it's no longer dark colors it's more blue and green now. He's calmed down and is happy to be fighting demons and not killing humans." Tara said in Spike defense.

"Yes, but how long is he able to control his demon before it becomes a problem is the question." Anya said.

"Spike does have remarkable control over his demon. He couldn't have been the first vampire to get the modification chip implanted into him. The others all died from biting people. They had no control, but Spike has been able to survive on bagged blood and getting violence through fighting other vampires and demons. If he didn't have a good control over his demon then he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from attacking humans." Giles said.

"How do we trust him though? The chip was a guarantee that he couldn't hurt us or anyone. Even if you want to entertain that he won't come after us, how will we know he won't kill other people?" Xander asked calmly.

"He won't. He knows Buffy would have to stake him and I don't think he wants to fight Buffy, at least not kill her." Willow said.

"Spike wouldn't do that to Buffy." Tara said.

"Look, we need him in this fight. He doesn't know he doesn't have the chip and he doesn't technically need to be told." Buffy said.

"You want to keep this from him? You don't want to tell him that he no longer has the chip? Giles asked surprised.

"Ya Slayer, just how long were you plannin' on not tellin' me?" Spike said with pure anger to his voice.

They all turned around to see Spike standing there by the bottom of the stairs. He was dressed, minus his normal long leather coat. He didn't look too sturdy on his feet, but he was wearing the clean clothes and freshly showered. Buffy could see the anger in his eyes, but she could also see the hurt and betrayal in them as well.

"Spike, I was going to tell you I was just waiting for the right time." Buffy started.

"Oh really? And when was that going to be? When you were done using me? You've known for six days and you didn't think to tell me during any of them? Ya I get I didn't wake up really until this mornin' where I could actually understand anythin'. So you get pass for the last six days, but what about this morning? Seemed like you had plenty of time then to bring it up. You know a little, hey by the way you're not longer defenseless against those army wannabe buddies of my sweet honey." Spike said not even bothering to hide the anger in his voice.

"Spike listen to me please." Buffy pleaded.

"No you listen here Slayer, how would you like it? If someone came up behind you, tasered you, threw you drugged up down on some table and chained you down to it. How would you like it to feel someone's hands poking around in your head? It didn't matter how much pain it caused you, how much you screamed as they kept poking and prodding. You can't pass out because it hurts too bloody much and you can't even move. All you can do is feel the pain and hear their laughter like you don't even matter. How would you like to go around every single day looking over your shoulder waiting for them to find you again knowing you can't even defend yourself? Knowing that you could be back there getting experimented on like you are nothing more than some bug they found in the dirt. You kept a piece of information from me that could at least take the fear away of being some lab rat again. But you were just going to keep that piece of information to yourself until you're through with needed the extra muscle. So tell me Slayer, what the hell makes you any better than them?" Spike said with hurt and anger in his voice like none of them have ever heard before.

Buffy didn't even get to say anything back to that before Spike turned and headed out of the kitchen and slammed the door shut behind him. Buffy dropped her head into her hands at the obvious pain she had caused Spike. She had just spent the morning curled up in his arms and this is what she did to him.

"I'm sorry Buffy, but he does have a right to be angry over this. We have all trusted him with our lives in the past year. That deserves our loyalty and faith." Giles said.

"I never thought about it like that before. He really does have a point to be upset right now. I would be too." Xander said.

"I know he does. I have to go and make this right." Buffy said as she got up from the chair and headed out into the kitchen and did her best to ignore her mother's sad stare as she walked outside.

The backyard was always covered in shade during the afternoon so Spike was standing on the grass away from the house smoking and pacing around. Buffy could tell her was pissed off and very hurt by her keeping this from him. Buffy sat down on the top step as she spoke.

"Spike please hear me out. I was going to tell you I really was, but I was afraid I would have to stake you."

"You think I would do that to you? Do you think after coming to you for help last year, after watching your back in fights, helping you protect your family and friends, after whatever the bloody hell just happened. Do you really think I would turn around and say fuck you and go off and kill people? Put you in the position to fight me, to put you in the position to stake another vampire that you know and have fought beside? Do you really believe I was just slap you in the face like that after everything?" Spike said with a combination of hurt and anger in his voice.

"I want to believe you wouldn't Spike, but this is complicated. I don't know. Everything I have ever been told is that all vampires and demons are evil and a soul makes the difference. Then here you are, no soul, and yet you loved Drusilla, I know you did it was obvious that you loved her and it wasn't fake I think I love you love. It was real. You would have died for her. You are everything I have ever been told that is impossible. I so badly want to believe it's an act so I don't have to think about the fact that Angel couldn't love me without a soul. And yet at the same time I want to believe that you are different from every other vampire around. But I'm scared Spike, I'm scared that I'll have to kill you and I can't go through that again." Buffy said with complete honesty to her voice.

"I wouldn't do that to you. I am different from every vampire out there. I don't need the soul to have emotions or to feel guilty about things that have happened. Scared or not you had no right to even think about keeping this from me. Not after everything they did to me in there. Everything they had me do." Spike said softly with pure pain in his voice and Buffy wanted and needed to know now more than ever just what had happened when he was held captive. Before she got to ask he spoke again. "You have to decide, right here, right now if you trust me or not. If you don't then fine say it and once whatever the fuck is going on is taken care of I'll leave town for good. Your Mum and little Sis will always be under my protection so you don't even have to worry about it. But I'm not going to stay around a place I'm not wanted. I'm not going to put up with another round of kick the Spike or the comments and being left in the dark. I'll leave and I still won't be killing whether I'm in this town or not. If you trust me then tell me and I'll stay. I'll actually make a real go of it here in Sunnyhell, but you have to trust me fully no more keeping secrets from me, no more games and no more questioning my loyalty. Decide what it's going to be Buffy." Spike said calmly.

"You know if you would have asked me that two weeks ago I would have denied it. I would have let you go without a second thought. Not because I don't trust you, but because I couldn't admit it to myself. I trust you Spike completely. I screwed up I know that. Giving you my blood wasn't about just keeping you alive for this fight, it was because I don't want to know what it's like for you to not be here. I don't know what's going on or happening between us, but you went from being my number one enemy to a friend. I enjoy patrolling together, I like knowing that you know me so well that we don't even need words when we fight. You know when I need you to be there as a silent support or when I need you to tell me some stupid joke to make me laugh. You just know me like no one has before. It scares me, if I'm being honest it scares me a lot. This morning waking up wrapped up in your arms I didn't even want to move. It just felt right, like we fit perfectly together. I don't know what is going on Spike, I don't, because two weeks ago it would never have happened. But then you got so injured. There was so much blood and you were dying. You were in so much pain and all I could do was sit there and hold your hand and talk to you. I didn't even know if you could hear me. All I knew was that you could smell me and I just hoped that would be enough for you to know you were safe. You went through all of that for my family, to keep them safe. I don't want you to leave Spike. I'm so sorry for the way I've treated you in this past year I shouldn't have judged you. Please don't leave Spike." Buffy said with honesty to her voice.

Spike let out a sigh before he flicked his cigarette butt away and went and sat down beside Buffy on the steps.

"I'm not going anywhere Luv. But no more games alright? I'm too old for games."

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have kept you in the dark and then turn around and drop Mom an Dawn off expecting you to keep them safe. It wasn't fair."

"We'll move on from it ya. Come on let's go back in there and you can fill me in on everything. Then later on I'll get out of your hair."

"You can't go back to your crypt Spike she could go back there for you. It's not safe. And you are not leaving here until you are in better shape. You just technically woke up this morning."

"Suppose you are right about my place not being safe. Not that it was real safe to begin with. I'll find an actual place to live and make a real go of it here in Sunnyhell. Get a business up and going."

"I thought you were rich."

"I am rich, doesn't mean I don't like to work."

"What would you do?"

"We can talk about it later Luv. We got more important things to discuss. Come on we can talk more about it later." Spike said as he got up and Buffy did as well.

Together they headed inside and Spike just winked at Joyce and she knew that everything would be ok.

"Come on in with us Mum, this probably would concern you as well ya?" Spike said.

"It most certainly does." Joyce said as she stood up from the stool and they walked into the living room.

Joyce sat down and Buffy had Spike sit down in the chair while she sat down on the arm of the couch facing Spike.

"Spike, I would like to apologise on behave of everyone. We should have trusted you more than that." Giles started.

"No more needs to be said on the matter Mate its all taken care of. Now someone tell me what the bloody hell happened." Spike said trying to move passed all the feelings and get into the heart of the matter.

"A couple of months ago I was attacked by this woman and she kicked my ass. She was stronger than me and I didn't expect it. I thought she was a demon and she called herself Glory. She kept going on and on about how I have her Key and she wanted me to tell her where it was. I was able to get away and I ran into some Monks that were dying. The one Monk told me that the Key was a mystical ball of energy they had been protecting from Glory and they turned it into a human and sent it to me to protect. We've been trying to research who Glory is or what she is and she's been pretty quiet until a week ago. She was here in the house and that is when I had Mom and Dawn go to you. I knew you would be strong enough to protect them while I was with the Council trying to see what information they had for me. I was then attacked by these knights that want the Key to destroy it to stop Glory from having it. You were attacked by Glory, who we found out was a Hell God." Buffy started.

"The purpose of the Key is for her to use it to get back home to her dimension. Only the Key's blood will open the portal and once there is no more blood the portal will close. However, while the portal is open anyone from that dimension can cross into our dimension causing Hell on Earth." Giles added.

"Ok time out for a second here, who's the Key?" Spike asked.

"The only people that know outside of this room is Angel and I just told him when he came here to help you. Riley doesn't even know and I don't want him to know just in case. Dawn is the Key and she doesn't even know." Buffy said.

"The Niblet is the Key? She's the one this Hell bitch is after?" Spike asked with a control anger to his voice.

"She is. Glory doesn't know it and Dawn doesn't even know it, but she is." Buffy said back with understanding in her voice.

"You need to tell Niblet what she is." Spike said.

"We can't do that to her. The Monks just made her like two months ago. All of our memories of her, all of her memories are factory made. It would crush her." Buffy said.

"She'll figure it out eventually. She's smart she's going to overhear something one day or she's going to find the answers herself. Giles is always writing in his books all she has to do is find one and read it. It's best she hears it from the people that love her and can explain and help her feel better than learnin' about it on her own." Spike said trying to get them to see reason.

"I just don't want her thinking that she isn't a part of this family or that we don't love her. She's human now it doesn't matter what she was." Joyce said.

"I know that, but she is also a mystic ball of energy. Who knows what else she could open. She might find out she has a power later on in life and then the questions will come up all over again. It's better for you to tell her now then for time to go by and she just gets more angry and feels even more betrayed. You need to tell her on your terms and make sure she knows that she is loved and a part of your family." Spike said calmly.

"Spike is right. There is no telling just what she could be capable of. If she can open one doorway there is nothing to say she can't open another. If demons got word of it they could come after her for her power. She deserves to know." Giles said.

"We'll tell her, but we will do it on our terms." Joyce said.

"Getting back on point here, Buffy did say that you were able to injure Glory." Giles said.

"She wasn't easy to injure and I don't know how bad she ended up or how fast she can heal. She's one strong bitch though. What else do you know?" Spike asked.

"She lives half of the time in a human host. We do not know who that is though. Wesley was able to find out some information. She can apparently summon any Hell demon she wishes, but they can only remain for twenty-four hours before they go back to their Hell dimension. However, Angel did say that a Hell demon could kill the whole city by then." Giles said.

"And then some. I'm assuming if you kill the human host she dies." Spike said.

"Probably but we don't know who the host is." Giles said.

"I'm not killing a human. It's not the person's fault that he or she has a Hell God in them." Buffy said.

"I'm not saying we do, but if it comes down to some stranger dying or the Niblet I'm gonna pick the stranger Luv. Besides if you kill the Hell God won't the human host die as well?" Spike said.

"Quite possibly." Giles said.

"Couldn't we separate the two?" Willow asked.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin with that or if it is even possible." Giles said.

"It would take an extreme amount of magic for that." Anya said.

"Wait there's a book. They have rules, shit what was the name of it." Spike said as he looked at Anya.

"Oh right it had all of the rules that Hell Gods had to play by while out of their dimension. I saw it once. It's this small little black book with designs on it. Oh crap what was it called." Anya said as she tried to think.

"They have to play by rules?" Xander asked surprised.

"Every demon does it's just how it is. If my head would stop pounding I might be able to think of it. It started with an S and was in the language of the Gods." Spike said.

"Gods?" Tara asked.

"Heaven's Gods not Hell's Gods." Spike clarified.

"Ok time out again, Heaven has Gods?" Buffy asked clearly confused.

"Silly humans never did learn about the world they were playing in. You would think being Heaven's Chosen One she would have learnt all of this." Anya said with a head shake to Spike.

"I'll teach her. Not their fault remember how wacked those Journals are. It's all political now, not what it used to be." Spike said.

"Someone please explain." Giles said clearly now very interested in what the two very old demons knew.

"Once my head is no longer fully scrambled I should remember the name, but until then Red look online for the book. It starts with an S and it will be in rough shape. All demons and vampires, anything that is not one hundred percent walking, talking human has rules they have to follow. Like humans have laws they have to follow. They vary on the species of demons to vampires. And just like humans do we have courts within those species to decide what the punishment should be. For vampires you don't hunt on Halloween, it was a sacred day before all of the little children were out knocking on doors. Halloween was a day to worship the Devil and you don't go out of your place on the sacred day. Over the centuries though things have changed. Vampires have begun to be disrespectful of the older traditions. Before if you Sired someone they were your family, they became your Childe." Spike started.

"Ok stop right there. What is that? Angel refused to tell me." Buffy interrupted.

"You don't know what a Sire and Childe is?" Spike asked shocked.

"Nope I really don't so please explain." Buffy said.

"What have you taught her?" Spike asked Giles shocked that Buffy didn't know something so simple.

"I tried to teach her a little history, but she had no interest. So I taught her how to win instead. It's not my fault." Giles said in his defense.

"Somebody just tell me." Buffy said annoyed.

"A Sire is the vampire that turns a human into a vampire, that newly turned vampire, fledging, becomes the Sire's Childe. Back in the beginning it was the Sire's responsibility to take care of that Childe, to teach it how to hunt, feed, survive everything. You became a family and anyone that Childe Sired was a member of the family. Sometimes the lines get blurred, but it was basic. The Childe had to obey the Sire and the Sire could control the Childe by using a special tone in their voice. I reaches into the demon and the demon has to obey. Angel and me are one of those special situations. Dru was off her rocker more so then you saw her. She couldn't fulfill her responsibilities so Angelus bit me while I was a vampire and created his own Sire claim over me removing Dru from her responsibilities and claiming me as one of his."

"So he adopted you?" Joyce asked.

"Ya we will go that. As centuries went on though vampires started Siring people and leaving them on their own. If they have done it enough times they could be brought forth of the vampire courts and sentenced to death by ignoring the rules." Spike continued.

"Why? I would think that the more vampires there are the happier the court would be." Xander said confused.

"It's all about the balance." Anya said.

"The balance?" Tara asked.

"Of good verse evil." Anya said.

"Again though the more vamps the higher the numbers for the evil half." Xander said confused.

"But there is no good in having a thousand mindless fledgings that are weak and can be killed by one person. It's not just about the numbers, but the quality within those numbers. Getting back on track my point is that this Hell Bint would need to follow the rules or she is at risk of being brought forth of her own kind's court. We need the book to see if we can figure out how to stall her or a weakness of hers. Maybe even create a temporary truce with her so we can buy ourselves more time and not have to worry about someone dying." Spike said.

"I'll see if I can find it somewhere. If we can find a name then I can also do a locator spell for the book itself." Willow said.

"Do you know how she got here?" Spike asked Giles.

"No the Council had no records of it. I'm assuming she just ended up lost in dimensions."

"Well that's not possible she couldn't jump around in dimensions it doesn't work like that." Anya said.

"How does it work?" Buffy asked.

"There's only three ways a demon or Hell God can get out of their Hell dimension. The first is someone in this dimension summoned her." Spike started.

"But that can't be it, because if she was summoned she could only do what she was summoned for and then sent right back. She also wouldn't be living in a human host. So that's out. The next is if she made it through the Gates." Anya said.

"The Gates?" Giles asked.

"Wow, they really didn't teach you anything did they?" Spike asked with a shake of his head at Giles.

"I know only what I have been able to read. There has never been any of this knowledge written down. Not that I have seen." Giles said.

"Then take out your notebook because I'm only giving the History lesson once." Spike said.

Giles did actually pull out a notebook and pen before he sat down on the other end of the couch and looked at Spike. Spike noticed the sparkle in his eyes as he was about to learn something that most wouldn't.

"You know the first way for a Hell God or Hell demon to come down here. They only get twenty-four hours to complete their task before they are sent back. That's one of the rules and the same goes for Heaven Gods and Heaven demons." Spike said.

"Heaven has demons?" Xander asked shocked.

"I'll get there. The second way is to travel through the Gates. Each Hell dimension has Gates, but they are hidden and you have to go through the paths to find it. It could take a thousand years for one demon to finally find the gates and they can go through, but they go through to a human host that is being born. It's always a baby. That demon then lives in that person until they grow up. The demon influences that person to become a killer, or a criminal. That doesn't mean that all criminals have demons in them but you'd be surprised how many do. Glory is living in an adult host though so she must have gotten here the third way." Spike said.

"Which is?" Buffy asked.

"She pissed off Lucifer." Spike simply stated.

"Lucifer? Like literally the Devil?" Willow asked shocked that he even existed.

"The one and only. The ruler of all Hell dimensions. If she pissed him off he could exile her out of her own Hell dimension and into our dimension into a human host. It would make her weaker and trap her from returning to her dimension unless she had the Key to open her dimension. If she was here long enough it would kill her, by either draining her of all of her powers or her human host dies and takes her with him." Spike explained.

"But then why go back to her dimension if she angered her boss?" Willow asked.

"Because if she can get back she can atone for whatever she did and it shows that she has paid her price and she'll be allowed to still rule her dimension." Anya answered.

"This is fascinating. There really is a Devil." Giles said with a smile on his face.

"Well you might as well tell them the whole history lesson." Anya said.

"There's more?" Giles asked with a smile.

"There's a lot more." Anya said.

"Hang on." Giles said as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He hit the recorder button and put it down on the coffee table with a smile. "Ok continue."

"Are you recording this?" Buffy asked with shock to her voice.

"Well I can't write that fast and who knows if I will ever be able to get this information again. He's certainly not going to go over it again. I can record it and then write it out later. Please continue." Giles said to Spike.

"Alright real quick. Ever since the beginning of time there has always been a struggle between good and evil. Even the bloody dinosaurs were put into each category. You had the carnivores of evil; they killed anything they could, even each other. The more blood the better. The herbivores were for the good; they stuck together and got along only fighting when given no other choice. From the time that the world has been created it was predicted that one day an epic war would take place between good and evil. This war will be the ultimate war and the fate of the world would be decided by which side is left standing. To this day it hasn't happened, but people still believe that it will and it will happen eventually. Once each side feels they have enough players in the game to win. The problem is as time goes on new player emerge for each side and players die off. It's a numbers game of quality they want the strongest and the best on their side. For evil you have the First he's the one in charge of everything, but he's just an entity."

"Ya we know the First tried to get Angel to kill himself a couple years back." Buffy said shocked that the First was brought into the conversation.

"Angel is a bloody perfect example of things going wrong. The First is evil's top player he then has Lucifer ruler of all Hells and Hell demons and Hell Gods. Angelus would have been considered a Hell warrior. But the Powers that Be got involved and had a Gypsy curse him with a soul. Eliminating him as a threat for the side of good. Now he fights for the side of good." Spike explained.

"So players can switch teams." Buffy said.

"On either side. Take Faith, a Slayer supposed to be on the side of good, but she came from a broken home, was abandoned and missing something important in her life. That made her easily seduced by the evil in the world and she switched sides. She's not out of the game though, if the Powers that Be didn't think she couldn't be back on the side of good she would have been killed by now in prison. You might find her back here knocking on your door one day looking to help." Spike said.

"Great that'll be a fun day all around." Buffy said sarcastically.

"So if Hell has warriors then does Heaven?" Joyce asked.

"They do, they are made up of Slayers and good demons and witches that chose to fight for the good. Unlike Hell's warriors they live among us in this dimension. Hell's warriors are trapped in Hell until Lucifer gives them the path through the maze to reach the Gates. They are then born into a new soul and grow into a Hell warrior in this dimension so it takes longer. Lucifer could call forth all of his warriors and demons that he has in all of his Hell dimensions to fight on Earth, but he only gets twenty-four hours to win or lose. If he wins they can remain here on this dimension, but if he loses he has to go back to Hell with all of his fighters. Lucifer works for the First, he is the one that gets the army together and prepared on both this dimension and his own. God is the same except for the Powers that Be. Both sides have been trying to figure out how to destroy the other. Hell started to have demons being born to wreak havoc on the world giving the Powers that Be no way to protect the innocent people. Over ten thousand years ago though they caught a lucky break. In Africa a group of Shawmen decided to do something about the demons running through the towns killing everyone. They stumbled upon a teenage girl that had survived the attack. They then took the blood from a demon and it's essence and merged it with the girl's own body."

"Creating the first Slayer." Giles said.

"Technically no. This is where your Watcher's journals go all political. The girl was stronger and faster. She could kill the demons and she did, but she didn't have enough of her own soul in her to know the difference between right and wrong. She killed people too in fits of rage from the demon. The Shawmen finally was able to trap her and they killed her. The Powers that Be took that idea and used it in their favor. They used the essence of demons from Heaven's demons. A dimension where all of the harmless demons and vampires go when they die. When a new fledge is coming out of the ground their soul is still clean as long as they don't hunt and kill. When Buffy gets them before they can kill anyone they go to a demon's Heaven dimension because their human soul is clean. The universe doesn't punish a victim for being killed. A vampire's soul will remain in limbo until they die then it will be determined which direction they go."

"I didn't know that." Buffy said sadly.

"I didn't either. This is truly amazing." Giles said.

"So if Buffy gets them before they hurt anyone then they can still be free from Hell?" Joyce asked just to hear it again.

"Yes as long as they don't kill they get to go to a special Heaven." Spike reassured.

"So the Powers that Be didn't come up with the idea of a Slayer then?" Giles asked.

"They didn't invent it, but they engineered it. The first time they used the essence of a vampire that had been good. They took that essence and infused it into a normal human girl, around the age of six. She then grew up and ten years later they allowed her to be called. The vampire woke up inside of her giving her the strength and speed she needed to fight the demons and vampires. Her instincts came from what the Powers that Be created next. Once they had their Slayer they needed something that could work as a protector of the Slayer. Something more powerful that could keep an eye on her. They created Guardians. A holy God that watches down on the world keeping innocent people safe and is waiting for the ultimate battle to begin where they can then come down to this dimension and fight alongside he warriors. Hell also has Guardians, but they are called Rey'aziel. They like the Guardians can't cross down here until the day the battle happens. The first official Slayer from the Powers that Be was everything they could have ever expected. She protected the innocent and harmless including demons and vampires, which is what she was originally supposed to be doing. Slayers were designed to only hunt those that fought for the side of evil. It's believed that one day when the war happens humans and demons will fight together on the side of good against those that fight on the side of evil. Every time a Slayer killed a demon that was harmless she was lowering their numbers on her own side. They needed someone that could educate the Slayer on which demons were good and which were evil so they gave her a Watcher. They put the knowledge into the mind of the first Watcher so he could find her and train her and teach her. And that is how it started."

"How old did the first Slayer live till?" Joyce asked.

"She's still alive to this day. She was everything the Powers that Be could have asked for and more. They made her a Guardian to look after each new Slayer that was called. The Powers that Be then got bolder and started to infuse the essence into more than one girl just in case one was killed or one was turned so easily to darkness. They could pick now which one they believed how be perfect for their cause. More Watchers were created, more were picked that were family men and could pass it down. But problems came up that they couldn't control. Politics took place and things were being kept from new Watchers and Slayers. The Council was born and they started killing off the Slayers they felt weren't worthy or strong enough. Slayers were getting killed off by vampires and demons when they were just coming into their powers. As generations went on what a Slayer was truly supposed to be became less and less. The Powers that Be stopped interfering and focused on other players like Angelus and witches, powerful demons that didn't play either side. Slayers stopped being the warriors and started being the hunters. They would kill as many evil players as they could. Until Buffy came along. The first time in five thousand years the Powers that Be interfered in a Slayer's life." Spike said as he looked right at Buffy.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked confused.

"You fought and killed the Master. You went into that fight knowing you would die, but you didn't run like others would have. You went head on into battle prepared to die and you did. It wasn't Xander that brought you back it was the Powers that Be that allowed you to live again. You impressed them with your courage and desire to do what is right and needed. You did it again when you killed Angel when you could have let him live. You then left to try and get away from it, but they always knew you would be back, it's who you are nothing will change that. They brought Angel back after teaching him a very powerful lesson. He never again would risk losing his soul and it gave you back your protector. But he left and you stayed strong. You stopped other apocalypses, you've pushed through and you continued to have family and friends fight beside you. You stopped being their hunter and you became more than a warrior, but their Champion of the Light. And just like the first Slayer if you work on protecting all innocent species you will then become a God, an immortal being for the good. To be in this dimension to protect and watch out for new Slayers, to truly teach them what it means to be a Slayer. If the Powers that Be have it their way you will be their general and you will win the fight against evil. That is what it means when the books say you are Heaven's Chosen One Buffy." Spike said with pride in his voice.

"Oh my God." Joyce said with tears in her eyes as she put a hand to her chest.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Buffy asked with shock as she looked at Spike.

"Not kidding Luv. You're amazing I've always told you that and I meant it every time." Spike said with honesty to his voice.

"So Buffy could be a Guardian one day?" Willow asked.

"No, but she could be the one in the prophecy." Spike answered.

"Prophecy? What prophecy would that be?" Giles asked in awe of the conversation.

"Please not another one where I die in it." Buffy grumbled.

"Not at all. It doesn't state the names and it could be a thousand years from now. There can only be twelve Guardians and twelve Rey'aziel. There is a prophecy where a child will be born between two Champions of the light. That child will put the good ahead of the evil by one and be the strongest Guardian in history. It will also be able to live in this dimension and as that child gets older the more immortal it will become. That child will stand by the Powers that Be's General in the war and victory will prevail against evil." Spike explained.

"And if Buffy is appointed as their General the child would be hers and whoever her mate or husband is." Giles said.

"Except just like there is a prophecy for the good there is one for the evil. Around the time this child is conceived the First will impregnant a powerful vampire or demon. That child will be born between two evil demons and that child from birth will know his job is to kill the thirteenth Guardian. If she is born and protected until she is immortal then Lucifer will lose the battle against her and the Powers that Be's army will be successful in destroying the First's army leaving the First alone and having to start all over again. There are other prophecies that talk about a powerful witch on the side of good that turns into a God and will be there to banish the First into another dimension trapping it and it's evilness for good. Putting the world into peace for millions of years." Spike continued.

"How do you possibly know all of this? Giles asked amazed at Spike's knowledge.

"When I first found out about Slayers they fascinated me. I wanted to learn as much as I could about em. I found an old Watcher's building that had been destroyed in a fire. They were all killed and everything was forgotten about. I went looking through it and I found a few books that were over six thousand years old. Ever since I've been collecting books over the years. I have about twenty of them. One was from an Ex-Watcher who the Council kicked out for being unhealthily obsessed with Slayers. He went back to the very first Slayer and he believed that the Slayers that lived longer were infused with vampire essence and not demon essence. He also believed that there was some sort of connection that the Slayers that lived longer and were more successful shared something in common and that is why they worked out better than others. The books talk about the Slayer's lives, which ones were married, which ones had kids and own businesses."

"Wait Slayers have actually had husbands and kids?" Tara asked surprised.

"About two hundred of them have. One Slayer in Germany six hundred years ago fell in love and married a fifteen hundred year old Master vampire. They married through human and vampire laws. He hadn't been evil in a thousand years when they met. And together they adopted twin newborn baby girls from Africa when she was thirty. She died at fifty-six from a car accident. The vampire continued to watch over the children, he walked them down the aisle when they got married, had grand-children. For another five hundred years he was the family's protector to ensure they were kept safe. He died a hundred years ago fighting to keep another Slayer safe from a pack of demons. She was able to get away and he was killed." Spike explained.

"Oh that is so sad and so beautiful at the same time." Joyce said.

"There is a Seer in the demon community. She works at the College. She's seen you around. She can see that you are the Slayer. She can see that you were infused with vampire essence. She believes that you possess that Master Vampire's essence. That that Master Vampire was connected in some way to the Master Vampire that the Powers that Be used on the first Slayer. That God himself chose you specifically for that essence to be infused into you. She believes that you are truly Heaven's Chosen One, that God himself chose you to be his General." Spike said as he looked right at Buffy.

"This is a lot of information for one day." Buffy said clearly overwhelmed.

"I know it is Luv. It's information you should have already had." Spike said sympathetically.

"Those books I would like to see them myself." Giles said.

"I have them hidden and kept in a safe place. The problem is they are the last books out there with the truth in them. Completely unbiased, unpolitical truth. If the Council got a hold of them they would destroy them and the truth will be lost forever. They need to be passed down to Slayers so they know the truth and can be what they are supposed to be." Spike said calmly back.

"I give you my word Spike once I am done reading them then I will return them to you. I might be able to find something that you missed or didn't have the time to properly look into. I'm not about to hand them over to anyone. I simply just want the proper information than what I have been told all of these years." Giles said calmly back.

"Alright, I'll get you them so you can read em."

"You said this Seer was working at the college? How is that possible I would have noticed a demon." Buffy said.

"Not all demons look like a demon. She's dying to meet you. She lives in the demon community. You see demons every day you just don't know it. They work the night shift in the corner stores, they work in construction, on the night shift for the police, pizza delivery men, sewer workers. Any job that is too dangerous in this town for normal humans to do a demon does it. All of which are harmless demons just working to take care of their family. They don't harm humans, they don't drink blood, they eat normal foods, they breathe and they are just looking to live in peace with their family and children."

"There's a demon community?" Xander asked surprised.

"There is. When I get a new place I'll get one down there. They are all peaceful and the houses are cheap and on a lot of land. I can buy one and have it repaired by some of the construction workers. You have demons on your construction crew you just never noticed. There are more peaceful demons here than there are evil ones. Even some vampires live there that don't hunt. They own businesses and bag it." Spike said with a shrug.

"Oh my God have I ever killed a harmless demon?" Buffy asked appalled at the thought she could have killed someone that wasn't even dangerous.

"I don't know Pet. Normally when they see a Slayer they run the other way. Any demon you've come across that fights back and doesn't coward away would be evil."

"Oh well good I haven't come across any then." Buffy said relieved.

"There are times when they need help and protection from other dangerous demons that you could help, but they don't go to you out of fear. If you want to live up to what the Slayer was truly about, what the essence was supposed to truly be about you might want to try and repair that damage." Spike said gently.

"Just how big is this community?" Willow asked.

"Pretty big. They have bars, clubs, restaurants, a church, construction crew, security, mechanics, a butcher shop and a supermarket. It takes up half of the city. The Bronze is on the outskirts of the demon community before it starts."

"I had no idea one even existed. I just assumed they all lived in abandoned factories or in the tunnels." Giles said amazed.

"No they live and work with everybody else. They are peaceful so there's no need to harm them or go looking for them. With the original Slayer she used to protect those demons along with humans, but politics and biased Watchers and Council members had the Slayers believing that all demons are dangerous and they started to kill them off. That caused a rift between the good demons and the Slayer. Now they just handle their own problems and avoid the Slayer when they can." Spike said with a shrug.

"Maybe tomorrow night if you're up for it you could take me down there. Tonight I feel a strong urge to kill something evil." Buffy said with a smile.

"I think we can fill that urge Luv." Spike said with a smile knowing that Buffy had been overwhelmed and hadn't been out much in the past week.

"As cool as all of that information was. We still don't know how to kill Glory." Xander said with a smile.

"We need that book and it might give us something." Spike said.

"I'll get working on tracking it down. If you remember the name just let me know it'll make it easier." Willow said with a small smile.

"I'll try Pet."

"Dawn will be home soon. Buffy tonight I am going to the Gallery to speak to Melissa about a few things." Joyce said.

"You can't be going alone Mom, you're supposed to be relaxing." Buffy said.

"I'm not going alone Spike is coming with me." Joyce said with a smile.

Buffy turned to glare at Spike and he just smiled at her.

"Spike, got his brain scrambled a week ago and you got released from the hospital a week ago after having brain surgery. The last two people going anywhere together is you two." Buffy said back.

"I did not have my brain scrambled." Spike said in his own defense.

"You had it broken in three spots, almost with no rib cage or chest plate and your organs were soup. The only place you are going is bed." Buffy lectured.

"I can walk down the street Luv. It's just to the gallery. Stretching my legs is good after not moving for so long. We're gonna leave at five and we'll be back before you even leave to go on patrol. Don't you have some school thing you need to do?" Spike said trying to change the subject.

"Don't even try to change the subject and maybe, probably." Buffy said slightly unsure.

"You're supposed to pick new courses for the next semester that is starting in two weeks." Willow said with a smile.

"Oh ya. I brought the course book home."

"Why don't you look it over and see if anything interests you. I'll escort your Mum down to the Gallery and we will be back by eight. Then tomorrow I'll give you a tour of demon town while I look for a house to buy." Spike said with a smile.

"You're buying a house?" Xander asked surprised.

"I am. I don't normally live in a crypt. I didn't know if I was gonna stay in town or not. Figured now would be as good of a time as any to buy some house and fix it up."

"Wow I just can't imagine you in a house." Xander said.

"Keep it up and I won't hire you to fix it." Spike said with a smirk.

"Do you even have money?" Xander said with a smirk.

"Oh no he has money. Trust me you want to be hired by him." Buffy said with a knowing smile.

"Alright we'll talk." Xander said with a smile.

"I'll let you know." Spike said.

"That doesn't change that you two shouldn't be going out alone together." Buffy said.

"We'll be fine Buffy. Spike can handle it if something happens. Plus we will be driving."

"You can't drive after surgery and he can't drive with his hand shaking and don't think I haven't noticed it's been shaking every time you move it." Buffy said to Spike giving him a knowing look.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Spike said faking innocence.

"Alright I will drive them to the gallery on my way home." Giles said.

"What about when they need to come back home?" Buffy asked.

"We can walk home Pet. We'll be fine. Don't worry about it." Spike said.

"Fine, but if you get hurt don't expect me to have sympathy." Buffy said clearly not happy.

"We'll be fine Sweetie. I need to get showered and ready to leave. Once it gets dark enough for you we can leave." Joyce said to Spike.

"Fine by me Mum." Spike said back with a smile.

"I'm gonna go back to the dorm and do some research." Willow said.

"I'll come and help you." Tara said with a smile.

"I need to get back to the shop." Anya said.

"Alright I'll drive you back. Call if something comes up eh?" Xander said to Buffy.

"Ya definitely." Buffy reassured him. "There's still a couple of hours before sunset why don't you get some rest?" Buffy said to Spike.

"I'm fine, but if it will make you feel better I'll go lay down." Spike said with a smile.

"Why don't you go and find that course booklet and take a look at it." Joyce suggested to Buffy.

"Ya I'll do that." Buffy said with a smile that everyone knew she wasn't going to be doing that.

They all went their separate ways and later that night while Joyce and Spike were still out Buffy headed out to patrol. She was upset that it was after eight at night and Spike and her mom still hadn't returned yet, but she was going crazy sitting around waiting so she headed out for the graveyard. She had read the paper and knew that there were three people who were killed by a vampire in the last forty-eight hours. She figured with keeping in mind what Spike had told her she would try and get to the new vampires before they had a chance to kill anyone and condemn their soul to Hell. Buffy was walking through the graveyard when she saw Riley fighting a vampire. She waited until he had dusted the vampire and she stood there waiting to see if she should talk to him or not. He was wearing his army get up so she had a very strong feeling he went back to the Initiative despite what had happened just last year between them. Just as she was debating if she should leave or not Riley had dusted the vampire and he had turned to see her standing there.

Riley straighten up and he put the stake back into his pocket before he spoke.

"Hello Buffy." He kept his voice tight and Buffy couldn't help, but be even angrier at him.

"Really that's all you have to say to me? You storm out of my house six days ago, no phone call, no nothing and that is what you have to say to me?" Buffy said with anger and annoyance mixed together.

"I've been giving you space. You seemed to have a lot going on with that vampire. Haven't even seen you around out here. Did you finally find the time to leave him alone or is he dust?" Riley asked with his own annoyance.

"He's better now. Almost perfect health. I've been busy keeping him alive all week. Giles and Xander said they would handle my patrols and apparently you have been back out here. No commando gear though, does that mean you haven't taken on the job?"

"No I have. I start tomorrow. Buffy I don't want to keep fighting with you. I hate fighting with you. Sparing with you if always fun for a workout and it's wicked hot seeing you hot, but arguing with you I hate it. The Initiative had a lot of good mixed in with a lot of bad. The new Director is different though. He's mostly interested in finding demons and vampires and killing them. The numbers are up for them and he wants to get the numbers back down."

"Riley you still capture and torture helpless creatures. I can't approve of that, especially when the Initiative built demons from parts of other demons and created Adam, who almost killed me and my friends. I can't just look the other way and trust them because someone new is taking over."

"I'm not saying you trust them right away. I'm saying you trust me to know that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you or your friends and family. I walked away from them remember, before Adam came around. I left when they went after Oz, who was harmless. I'm not saying I agree with everything they have done in the past, but it is different. I've seen it being different so I am willing to give them another chance. All I'm asking is that you trust me to know the difference between right and wrong. I didn't think that was so much to ask for Buffy." Riley said with hurt to his voice.

"It's not, but you just bring it up out of nowhere. You should have spoken to me about it before. What happened before makes the Initiative my business and I had a right to know it was back and that they wanted you back as well. You almost died from those enhancements Riley. I can't through that again and I won't. I do trust you, but I don't trust them and I don't know if I ever will. I can deal with you being back there, but I can't deal with you constantly trying to kill Spike. He's a part of the team now and that is something you are both going to have to get used to. He'll keep to himself if you do the same. He's a powerful and old Master Vampire he's valuable to me. He knows a lot and he's survived a lot. He's also the only one that has been able to hurt Glory including me. If I don't want the world to end then I'm gonna have to count on him to fight Glory with me. I can't do that with you two arguing every second you are around each other. I don't want to hear it. I have enough to worry about and try to handle. I can't handle you two bickering too."

"Fine, but that doesn't change that I don't like him I can see where you are coming from though so I'll do my best. Can we please be done fighting now?"

"Fine. I need to patrol do you want to come with?"

"Definitely."

"Let's go I need to kill something." Buffy said with a small smile.

They spent the next two hours patrolling the three cemeteries before they both ended up going back to Buffy's place. Buffy and Riley headed up to her bedroom Buffy was relieved that her mother and Spike were back if Spike's presence in the spare room was anything to go by. Buffy knew he would have kept her mother safe so she wasn't worried now that they were back safe and sound. Buffy closed her bedroom door and Riley moved over to her and began to kiss her. After a few minutes Buffy pulled back with a smile.

"Behave Mister, Mom and Dawn are down the hallway."

"But we fought that means we get to make up and make up sex is always the best."

"We can't they could hear us."

"I can be quiet if you can be quiet. That is unless you aren't up for the challenge." Riley said with a cocky smirk.

"That is not going to work on me." Buffy said trying to be serious.

"Oh I think it will. If not I know something that will." Riley said as he began to remove his shirt before he went over to Buffy and started to kiss his way down her neck.

"We can't be doing thing this, what if they hear us?"

"You can scream into your pillows."

"I don't scream and you know it."

"No, but one day you will mark my words one day I will make you scream out in complete pleasure you won't even know what to do with yourself." Riley said with confidence.

"Oh that sounds like fun and a big challenge. Do you think you are up for it?"

Riley grabbed Buffy's hand as he spoke. "You tell me, does that feel up for it?"

"Well I guess we could if we were really quiet"

"There's the spirit." Riley said as he went to remove Buffy's clothing.

Spike who was sitting in the spare room waiting for when Buffy would return safely from her patrol got up and headed down the stairs. He was tired and he just wanted to sleep, but he knew that wasn't going to happen while Buffy was going to be having sex with Riley in her room right next to his. Even if he wasn't a vampire he still would have been able to hear them. The last thing he wanted to hear was Buffy having sex with anyone let alone Riley. Not that being outside in the backyard was much help it was at least better than being right next door to it. Spike was upset and annoyed with himself for letting himself think that he meant something to Buffy. He didn't understand what was going on with her. She spent six days waiting for him to gain consciousness, giving him her blood, even calling Angel. Then when he wakes up she spends almost an hour in his arms just talking to him about his past life as a human. She tells him not to leave that she wants him around and now she was upstairs sleeping with Riley who was one of the men responsible for putting a chip in his head. Spike didn't understand why she was putting up with his crap and he didn't understand why he was doing this to himself. He should just accept that they were comrades and maybe on the way to being friends and that is all it will ever be with her. The problem was Spike wasn't the type of person to just fall in love and then move on in a moment. It was going to take time for him to get over Buffy and it might never happen with him being in this city with her. Spike knew he was a fool and an idiot, but he just couldn't bring himself to leave her. He wanted to keep her alive and watch her back. He wanted to be there for Joyce and Dawn and make sure they are okay. Spike knew he would just need to get over it all and try and be her friend. For now he was just going to stay outside on the back porch until he heard them going to bed. Then he would be able to go back upstairs and get some sleep himself. Right now it was starting to seem like it was going to be a long night. Spike pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one up as he sat down on the top step of the back porch. Puffing away in the quiet of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Warnings: mentions of sex and swearing.

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Chapter 3

It was just after sunset when Buffy got back home from school. She had been trying to get everything organized for the next semester. Her school counselor wanted to talk to her about her attendance and her focus. Buffy hated it, but she had to go through it. She still didn't know what she wanted to do, so she figured she would take a few different business courses and see if any of them interested her. She hadn't seen Spike before she left and she was hoping he was feeling better. She knew he wanted to show her around the demon community, but Buffy didn't know if he should be moving around that much after being so close to dying just less than a week ago. She would see how he was feeling before she decided to go with him to the demon community.

Buffy walked inside and headed into the kitchen as she called out.

"Mom, I'm home."

"Hello Honey, how was school?" Joyce asked as she was in the kitchen with Dawn getting dinner ready.

"It was long. I spent like three hours with my guidance counsellor going over options. I've decided to take more businessy courses over the other ones. If nothing else maybe I'll find something I'm good at besides killing things." Buffy said as she sat down on a stool next to Dawn.

"You will find something. Spike said other Slayers have had other normal lives outside of the Slaying duties. You'll find something and you can't go wrong with business courses you can take them anywhere." Joyce said.

"Ya I know. What about you two? What did you do today?"

"I went to the Gallery to help get a few things in order. Being back at work even if for just a couple of hours felt good." Joyce said.

"I was stuck at school learning about World War Two. I'm hoping Spike will be able to help me understand it more." Dawn said with a shrug.

"Well he did live through it. How is he?" Buffy asked her mother.

"He's fine." Spike answered as he walked into the kitchen and went over to the fridge.

"Oh I already warmed some up for you it's in the microwave. I heard you moving around I figured you would be hungry." Joyce said with a warm smile.

"Ta Mum." Spike said with a smile as he went over to the microwave.

"You're still looking banged up. Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Buffy asked doing her best to keep the concern from her voice.

"I'm fine. It's just bruising. How was school Lil Bit?" Spike asked as he went over to see what she was reading with his mug in hand.

"Boring, but that's the life of a thirteen year old girl these days. You know I remember when school used to be interesting and at least worth something. Now it's all, you have to write this paper and remember this random date. Ya because I'm totally going to need to know about epic battles or the quadratic formula for my life." Dawn said as she rolled her eyes.

"The point isn't that you might need it the point is you have to pass it to move forward towards things that you will need for your career. You just have to get through all this other fluff first." Spike said.

"Well it's good that you say that, because I need your help. I have to write this report on World War Two, but my teacher is nuts. She wants us to write it on rumors that were going around that time that were out there and never proven. I don't suppose you heard anything back then?" Dawn asked.

"As a matter of fact I do have something for ya that no one else will have." Spike said with a look that they could tell he was having a memory.

"Spill I need a good grade." Dawn said with a smile.

"She really does." Joyce said with a smile to Spike.

"Alright. Back then the Nazis were messing around with having the ultimate army. They were doing experiments on vamps and demons to try and make a super human. They wanted to have soldiers that could fight without feeling pain or even thinking. They would just follow mindless orders. I was in Germany and I got captured along with two another blokes who I can't remember their names. Anyways I wake up on this submarine and the two other vamps had already killed everyone. They were sending us somewhere, but the Americans wanted to negotiate to have us released so they couldn't try and perfect their experiment. They actually sent in the Great Poof." Spike said as he rolled his eyes.

"Wait, Angel was there?" Buffy asked now more interested in the story.

"Yup. He popped down, but the crew was already dead, except for this one human. Anyways long story short the Americans wanted the research and they sent Captain Broody down there to get it and to eliminate anyone in the Sub. He ended up Siring the other human before he destroyed the controls for the Sub and took off for the American Sub that was waiting for him. We sunk down to almost the bottom and he left us there to die including his new Childe. We got out obviously, but we were in the middle of the ocean so we had to swim to the shores. It took three months and the other three idiots were long dead. I would have to hide under the water during the day in little caves living off of fish blood. I finally made it to the States and the rest is history." Spike finished.

"So the Nazis were basically doing the same thing as the Initiative weren't they?" Dawn asked slightly confused.

"Yup they were, same as the Americans. Looks like over the decades they finally figured some of it out. Now they are back up and running again isn't that lovely." Spike said sarcastically.

"Apparently they are just looking to hunt down dangerous demons according to Riley. They are under a new Director and no enhancing drugs are involved." Buffy said.

"Sure they have that big laboratory and Government funding to just hunt down dangerous demons and kill them humanely. Then they are going to adopt a whole bunch of puppies and give them to poor children." Spike said sarcastically.

"Hey you don't know they haven't changed the way they operate there. And Riley wouldn't lie to me about it being different. He wouldn't go back there if they were doing the same things." Buffy said.

"Ya Captain Cardboard who joined in on torturing helpless and harmless demons would never go back to a place like that. He wouldn't lie about what it is really like to his woman. He doesn't lie after all." Spike said in a condescending tone as he pushed away from the counter top and went over to the sink to wash the mug.

"Spike." Buffy started, but Spike cut her off.

"I'm going to the demon community, you coming or not Slayer?" Spike asked with a tightness to his voice.

"Ya I'm coming." Buffy said clearly knowing she was in the dog house.

"I'll be outside when you're ready. Have a good night Mum. I'll see you around Lil Bit." Spike said with a warm smile before he headed out of the kitchen and grabbed his coat before he headed out the front door.

"You are so stupid." Dawn said annoyingly.

"Dawn do not talk to your sister like that." Joyce said.

"Why not? It's true?" Dawn said back.

"How am I stupid this time Dawn please enlighten me on your vast knowledge of life." Buffy said back.

"Riley was here this morning when I woke up so he spent the night. He slept in your room, the room right next door to where Spike was sleeping. You know that whole vampire can smell you thing. Did you just not think about how Spike would feel knowing Riley was here while he was still recovering. How someone who hurt him badly was in the house and you were playing nice with him? Spike has every right to be mad at you. You are sleeping with the enemy." Dawn said.

"I am not sleeping with the enemy." Buffy said.

"To Spike you are. How do you know that Riley didn't help torture Spike while he was in there? You spent a week worried about Spike sleeping beside him and then once he's awake you go right back to sleeping next to Riley. How do you think he would feel about it?" Dawn said.

"I think what your sister is trying to point out is that you left out very important information from Spike that got him seriously hurt. You say you trust him now and that you want him around, but how can he trust you when you are with Riley, someone who may have very well tortured him or was around and did nothing to stop it? It puts Spike in a hard position Sweetie." Joyce said calmly.

"Ok, but it's my life and not Spike's or anyone else's. I don't know just what is going to come from my relationship with Riley, but that's for me and Riley to figure out. I need to get going don't wait up." Buffy said to her mother as she got up from the stool.

"Be careful out there please. I can't take anymore injured parties in this house for a little while." Joyce said with concern.

"We will be careful I promise." Buffy said as she gave her mother a kiss on the cheek before she headed out of the house and out front.

Spike was leaning against the tree out front as he finished his smoke. Buffy walked over to him and he finished his smoke as he spoke.

"Ready Slayer?"

"So you're back to Slayer? What happened to Luv or Buffy?"

"I've called you Slayer before. Don't see what the problem is."

"The problem is you only call me Slayer anymore when you are angry at me. You were fine last night and now you are angry, why?"

"I'm not angry. I'm frustrated and cooped up. I'm not angry why would I be? It's not like I had to listen to the world's most boring sex for all of twenty minutes last night with Cornfed who laughed while torturing me. Nope can't think of a single reason why I would be angry." Spike said in a dead tone as he pushed off the tree and headed down the street.

Buffy rolled her eyes in frustration before she turned and went after Spike.

"Spike wait up." Buffy started and Spike stopped and turned around to face her. It was clear that he was upset and not angry with her.

"What?" Spike asked tightly.

"I'm sorry you heard us last night. I didn't think you would. I forget that you have vampire hearing and all of that. I'm sorry if you think my being with Riley is a betrayal to you or something, but it's my choice who I date. Riley and me are still together and if the time comes when we break up then it'll be my choice too. I know you don't like him and he doesn't like you either, but there's not much I can do about that. I know he hasn't come after you at least since you've escaped. I don't know what happened while you were in the Initiative. You don't talk about it and I know I haven't asked either. That's my bad. I don't want to fight over who I am dating though so if you can't get along then don't be in the same room as him. I have bigger problems right now then you two fighting every chance you get." Buffy said in a serious voice.

"I won't eat your precious boyfriend Slayer. But if I were you I would pay more attention to who you are dating. That boy has done more evil things than I have and he's the one with that all mighty soul you keep going on about. I may have killed innocent people, but I never played with my food. That boy of yours has helped to torture innocent, harmless creatures. Living and breathing with a heartbeat people. They might not have a soul, but does it really matter if they are innocent and harmless? Does a soul really matter if the person who owns one can still inflicted unbearable pain onto someone who is helpless and innocent? You start figuring that out, then you'll truly be what a Slayer is supposed to be and not some girl playing dress-up with super powers." Spike said calmly.

"I thought you said God himself picked me." Buffy said softly.

"He did, but that doesn't mean you are living up to the name and the potential within you. You have a lot to learn and you'll only learn it when you truly want to. Assuming you ever do." Spike simply said.

"I do want to learn what I'm truly supposed to be. I don't want to kill anyone innocent or harmless even if that is a demon. Will you help me learn?" Buffy asked calmly.

"I'll teach you a lot of things Luv." Spike said with a flirty smirk and Buffy just shook her head before she spoke.

"You just can't help yourself can you?"

"Not after that sex you just had last night. You know you can't even call it sex. Sex isn't supposed to make you depressed." Spike said as he started to walk down the street and Buffy walked beside him.

"It doesn't make me depressed and my sex life is none of your business."

"It became my business when you were doing it next door to me. And it made me depressed I can't understand how you aren't suicidal from it. It was the most boring sex I have ever heard in my entire existence and I came from Victorian England where a man and a woman couldn't be alone in the same room together until married. The women didn't even show her ankles out in public. That is saying something Luv."

"Ok we are not talking about my sex life. And it is not depressing or boring." Buffy said defensively.

"Sex is a natural thing and you shouldn't be all ashamed to talk about it Luv. And twenty minutes? Hasn't he heard of foreplay? You know touchin', lickin', kissin' something to build up to the sex part. And how stupid of a git is he that he couldn't even notice that you faked that whole orgasm."

"Ok I do not fake anything and we are so done with this conversation." Buffy said embarrassed that someone had heard them.

"You did fake it. I hope like hell you faked it and not that you have no idea what a true orgasm feels like. Because that wasn't it. Sex isn't supposed to be one position and you just go for it. It's supposed to leave your legs all numb and your body tingling all over for hours afterwards. It's not supposed to be just a one and done for your lady. Bloody bloke has no manners."

"Please can we stop talking about my sex life. Please." Buffy pleaded clearly uncomfortable about it.

"You need to get over that bashfulness Pet. Sex is a natural thing and it's okay to talk about it. Especially with someone my age and experience. Just sayin' Luv that what you did last night was not sex. That was just motion until Captain Cardboard got off. Bloody selfish."

"Ok this conversation is beyond over. You are supposed to be teaching me about demons so teach."

"You know there is nothing wrong with talking about sex. You should talk about it. You need to talk about it. That's what females do you talk about boys and sex with each other. At least you're supposed too. You can talk to me about it or ask your questions."

"I am so not talking to you about this." Buffy said horrified.

"Why not? You need to talk about it. It's natural to talk about sex. Who are you gonna talk about it to? Your mum? Naïve Red who has only been with one bloke and now a female. You aren't going to ask your Watcher or Captain Cardboard about it. Why not me?"

"Because you will just make fun of me for it later or bring it up to embarrass me."

"Fine, I give you my word I will never bring it up again unless you bring it up to me in private. I won't poke fun, I won't hold any of it against you. I will be honest and kind and afterwards we can never talk about it again. I give you my word." Spike said honestly.

They walked in silence beside each other for a block or two before Buffy finally broke the silence.

"Ok fine, but you can never bring it up to anyone or I will kick your ass." Buffy said in a deadly tone.

"Be more threatening if it wasn't for the fact that I could fight back. I already gave you my word I wouldn't embarrass you, bring it up again or poke fun. Ask your bloody questions and I'll tell you honestly."

"Ok, do all guys not like going you know down there?" Buffy asked awkwardly with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Wait are we talking like digits or mouth?" Spike asked slightly confused.

"The second one." Buffy said awkwardly again.

"Cornfed doesn't do that?" Spike asked shocked.

"No one ever has ok. Riley doesn't like doing it he said so we don't do that."

"But you do it with him right?" Spike said already knowing the answer.

"Ya that doesn't bother him. We don't really do much in the foreplay department. Normally there's kissing and a little touching then the main event. We only do the other when I can't have sex."

"So you have never had a guy go down on you? Ever?" Spike asked still stuck on that.

"No I've only really been with three guys remember. Not a lot of vast knowledge or experience."

"Wow, I thought all guys loved doing that. It's one of the best parts aside from the actual shag." Spike said shocked.

"Really? So it's not all guys then?"

"No the ratio is definitely the other way around Luv. Peaches I can understand it was heat of the moment weakness for him. The one night stand bloke alright heat of the moment from a man whore. But Cornfed that is just bloody stupid of him. There is nothing that tastes more sweeter than a female and I mean absolutely nothing, blood included. You have been robbed Luv." Spike said with complete seriousness to his voice.

"Huh. Ok, is it true that if you do it doggy style that means the female is kind of a slut?" Buffy asked getting more comfortable now.

"Where did you hear that?" Spike asked amazed at the questions.

"Lots of girls used to talk about it and they used to make it seem like the girls who did it like that were slutty."

"No that has nothing to do with it. You've had sex in more than one position right?"

"See I know you want me to say yes to that, but I really can't say yes. It's always the same one with the guy on top."

"One position the whole time, no foreplay, faking orgasms, how do you not fall asleep?" Spike asked amazed.

"Almost fell asleep once actually, but I had been up for two days and just got back from patrol."

"There are like hundreds of different positions some more creative than others. Most popular ones are missionary, the guy is on top. The cowgirl, the girl is on top that could go where she faces you or she faces away from you. Doggy style. That one is one of my favorites because you can go in deeper and it hits your sweet spot. You can also get to the girls neck easier for little kisses and nibbles no fangs involved. Also frees up a hand so you can rub the clit at the same time. Definitely not a position for a slut. The fourth is when you are spoonin' each other and you do it that way. Also like that one because it frees up a hand and the girl's neck is right there."

"Vampires and their necks." Buffy teased.

"The neck is actually very sensitive for humans missy. Not just a vampire thing. The back of a girl's neck can be very sensitive and a major turn on. Hence why hickies are always on someone's neck or their inner thigh that one is also good. No position labels you as a slut or provocative. What labels you a slut is if you have slept with two hundred guys. The position is about feeling and how good different ones feel. Some of them you will hate and some of them you will love. Sex isn't supposed to be all modest and kept in one position. You're supposed to be exploring your sexuality. You should be having sex everywhere and in the shower. Sex can be in the heat of the moment and still passionate and pleasurable, even if it's a quickie."

"Ya, but it can still be all of those things even if there isn't much chemistry between people."

"No it can't be Luv. You need that chemistry, that spark between you and someone that's what makes the sex amazing. That heat between you and someone that you just can't wait to make the other moan and scream in pleasure. That's the whole point in chemistry. You don't even have to really like the guy for there to be a sexual chemistry between you two. More times than not what starts out as just sex turns into a great relationship. A relationship doesn't always come first."

"Just having sex doesn't that just make someone you know a little loose and slutty?"

"I'm not talkin' about standing on a street corner giving it away for five bucks a pop. It's not unheard of to have a sexual relationship with someone and not be exclusive or even go out anywhere. Friends with benefits and all that. Slutty would be if you slept with everyone in your school, which I know you wouldn't do. There's nothin' wrong with a healthy sexual relationship Luv."

"Says you. I'm pretty certain my mom would have a heart attack at the thought."

"Your Mum wants you to be happy and alive more than anything in the world. She would rather see you happy in some sexual relationship then you being miserable in a traditional relationship Luv. She doesn't want to hear all the details, but she just wants you happy. It's not easy for her. Parents want their children to live longer than them. The last thing they ever want to do is bury their own child. She's tryin' to come to terms and cope with her own dreams for you not comin' to reality. I think she's handled this whole situation pretty well especially when you factor in the fact that she just found out a few weeks ago that her other daughter really isn't her daughter."

"She didn't even think twice about it. She just said that Dawn felt like hers so she was hers. And you're right she is doing really well with the whole my daughter is a Slayer and the other one is some green ball of energy thing. She deals with a lot with my life and the damage on the house. God I don't know how she does it."

"She's a Mum it's what she does. She's a great woman your Mum. You are lucky to have her in your life." Spike said sincerely.

They arrived to the outskirts of the demon community and Buffy looked around. She could see some people that were sending her some vibes letting her know that they were demon or part demon anyways. They looked afraid to see her, but they also appeared calm that Spike was there.

"So can all demons use magic to hide their true faces?" Buffy asked.

"No only the ones that have magic within them. It's a family trait. Some have human faces because they are half-breeds like vamps are."

"Vamps are considered to be a half-breed? And is that like a cross-breed like in puppies?" Buffy asked confused.

"Half-breed is part demon and part human. Vamps aren't pure demon so they are classified in the half-breed category. It's one of the main reasons pure demons hate vampires. They see our blood as unclean because of the human within us. A lot of demons wars have started because of half-breeds and the need pure demons have on killing us all." Spike explained.

"Really? I would have thought that wouldn't have mattered. I mean a demon is a demon."

"First off, not all demons are the same. Some are pure evil and others have more humanity in them than your humans do. Demons get a bad stereotype to them. The same could be said for humans though with your prisons filled with criminals and killers. You don't say all humans are bad, well not all demons are bad. Like I said a lot of demons hold down normal jobs and have a house and a family. They are born that way just like you were born human." Spike stopped and he could see the wheels in Buffy's head turning as she digested the information. "Second, demons hate half-breeds, the ones that are violent anyways the ones that are harmless don't care. Even back when I was first sired there were rumors of this Scourge of demons that went around the world killing every half-breed they could find. There's been a lot of wars in the demon world, a lot more than your human wars."

"Ok so not all demons are bad. It's just hard to believe. I mean since I was fifteen I've been taught that vampires and demons are all bad and need killing. Vampires were just demons walking around with the face of their victim. Yet here you are all with humanity in you without a soul. It's confusing and now there are all these breeds of demons and half-demons that are able to hold down a job and work with humans and no one even notices it. You're kinda blowing my world apart here."

"I know Luv and I'm sorry about that, but this was supposed to have been taught to you already. Council of Wankers decided they wanted to control everything and ignore what the purpose of a Slayer truly was. As a result you get Slayers just killing anything that isn't human and getting killed by their own Watcher once they turn eighteen. I don't want to confuse you or make you question every vamp or demon you fight. If you don't want to do this then you don't have to Luv. We can walk away anytime."

"No I need to do this. I don't want to be killing anything or anyone that is innocent. That's not what the purpose of Slayers when they were first created and I don't want to be someone that I'm not supposed to be. I only want to kill those that are dangerous. It's bad enough that I'm a killer I don't want to be feared by innocent people too."

"You're not a killer Luv. You're a warrior there's a difference. I'll teach you everything I know if you want. It's up to you when we stop Luv just say the word at any time." Spike said honestly.

"Ok. So where are we heading?"

"To a demon lounge. I can find out about any houses that are up for sale and it's a chance for you to get mixed into the community."

"It's not like Willie's right?"

"No that place is a dump, but it's a good place to go if you just want to get pissed and not have to deal with anyone tryin' to get into your business. This place is a classy lounge with live music."

"So like the Bronze?"

"Kinda, but more upscale. You'll see."

"Ok, is it far?"

"Not that much further. These places all look taken." Spike said as he looked around on the street.

"Lights are on for most of them so that is a safe assumption."

"Maybe on the outskirts there will some places."

"Do you want to be on the outskirts?"

"It's not a bad idea. There's usually some land with the house too which is nice. I'll ask when we get to the lounge."

"So do you know a lot of demons here?"

"Quite a bit ya. I help them out when they have a problem. I do some work for them when it comes up. It's right here." Spike said as he nodded his head at the building with the neon lights coming out from the windows.

"I've never been in this area before. Never had a reason to be." Buffy said as they headed over to the door.

"Most people don't. This area is all run by demons. Humans don't tend to have much of a reason to be here unless they are looking for something specific. Demons come from all around the city to shop here."

"Really why?"

"Because this is the only demon community for those that are harmless to go outside of L.A until they go further north or south in the state. They get a lot of business to make up for the lack of human business."

"So they don't get any humans down here?" Buffy asked as Spike held the door open for her.

"No they do, but only if the human is looking for what they are selling. Otherwise they normally don't come down here or they are just passing through." Spike answered as they walked into the lounge.

Buffy looked around and she was surprised to see how nice it was here. The place smelt great, the lights were low, but it wasn't too dark. They had a few lights for the dance floor. There was a stage with a band and a female singer. The music was in English which surprised Buffy she thought it would be in some demon language. There were booths all around the place in a nice red silk that looked very comfortable. There was a large bar at the end of the room and it was backlit with high stools that looked like small chairs. The place looked very high end and Buffy was amazed by it. She let Spike lead her over to an empty booth that was facing the stage. They both sat down and Buffy sat down beside Spike on the inside so she could still see the stage, but she kept enough room between them so she could turn to talk to Spike properly.

A waitress came over to them and gave Spike a huge friendly smile as she gave Buffy a cautious eye.

"Spike, long time no see."

"Maddie how have you been?" Spike asked with a smile.

"I've been good. Who's your friend?" Maddie asked with a tight smile.

"This is Buffy and you already know who she is. Play nice kitty cat she's learnin'."

"Well that would depend on what she is learning if the claws come out or not." Maddie said with a smirk.

"I'm learning which demons are good so I don't hurt them by mistake one night." Buffy answered honestly.

"Well then welcome and I can tell you any demon in here tonight is harmless. We don't let the bad ones in. We don't like fighting, but we will to protect our own. Can I get you both a drink?" Maddie asked with a smile.

"Whiskey for me kitty." Spike said with a smile.

"I'll just have a club soda thanks." Buffy said with a smile herself.

"Coming right up."

Maddie headed to the bar to get their drinks. Spike turned to Buffy as he spoke.

"Maddie is a tiger-shifter. She was born that way. She's twenty-one and has worked here for three years."

"Tiger-shifter? What like a werewolf?" Buffy asked as she had never heard of that before and she doubted Giles had either.

"Sort of. Werewolves get bit and can be turned into one. Shifters are born that way. They can also call upon the animal inside of them at any time and they transform completely into that animal. If Maddie transformed she would look just like a Siberian tiger they have at the zoo."

"Really? How does that work?" Buffy asked now really interested.

"The same way all half-breeds call upon their demon. It's inside of her and she went through some troubles when she was younger. The older she got she learnt to have better control of the tiger inside of her when she let it out. Now when she is in her animal shape she can control it and still have her own mind."

"That's amazing and unbelievable. Are there others like her?"

"There are packs all over the world. Some are more rare than others. Tigers, birds, coyotes and even some fox shifters exist in the world. They are more common in Africa or South America than here in the states."

"So her family moved here then?"

"No she did. She came from a small pack of just twenty. Her mother was shunned because she got pregnant by an outsider. In order for her mother to be accepted back into the pack she had to give Maddie up when she was just a baby. Maddie grew up in Africa in the foster system. It was horrible on her and when she was thirteen she ran away so she wouldn't be sold off to be married. She made it all the way over here when she was found by her current mum and dad. She was fourteen and they found her on the streets trying to get some money for food. They took her in and helped her get control of the animal spirit inside of her. They are both werewolves and they own this lounge." Spike said.

"That's really cool and amazing that they would just take her in like that." Buffy said amazed at the humanity within this community.

Maddie came back over with their drinks and some papers under her right arm.

"Whiskey on the rocks for you and club soda for you." Maddie said as she placed the drinks down.

"Thanks." Buffy said.

"And these are for you. Mom thought you might need them." Maddie said as he gave Spike the papers.

Spike looked down and saw that they were listings. He let out a chuckle before he spoke. "And how did she know? Just wishful thinking?"

"We've all heard about what happened between you and a Hell God. Honestly Spike you would think you would know better than that." Maddie said with a smirk.

"Guilty as charged, but in my defense didn't know what she was. Thank your mom for me eh? I am in the market for a new digs."

"That's all that's available right now. Some need more work than others. Do you have a safe place to stay until you find a place? You shouldn't be staying at that crypt now that she knows where you live." Maddie said with a slight worry tone to her voice.

"I'm staying with a friend. All safe and sound I swear it." Spike said reassuringly.

"Good. A lot of people would be very upset to lose you. If you need any help just let me know."

"I appreciate it kitty. How's school goin'?"

"It's going well. I'm in the hospitality course on campus here." Maddie told Buffy.

"Oh really? I'm on campus too. I'm in some business courses right now." Buffy said.

"No way? Well maybe I'll see you around campus when it starts up again next week." Maddie said with a smile.

"Ya I'll keep my eyes open." Buffy said with a smile back.

"Crystal is going to be playing here soon tonight and you know she is going to make you collect on that debt." Maddie said to Spike with a smile.

Spike groaned and Maddie chuckled.

"Just a head's up." Maddie said before she turned and left to go to another table.

"Who is Crystal and is this debt going to be bloody?" Buffy asked with worry.

"Not at all Luv. She's a singer here. I haven't seen her since I asked for a favor a year ago. There won't be any blood at all." Spike reassured Buffy as he picked up the listings and started to flip through them.

Buffy looked over at them as well and she couldn't help but be shocked by the low price for the size of the house and land.

"Wow those are cheap."

"They are, but you also have to pay to have them repaired. Well you don't have to, but it's nice to have a nice place to live. I'll go through them all later and see which one I like then I'll come back tomorrow and buy it. I can have a crew start working on it within two to three days. Think Harris is going to have a problem working around demons?"

"If you pay him I don't think he'll have an issue and if he does then Anya will fix it I'm sure. You know I never realised it before but Oz was a werewolf."

"Technically he still is Luv and ok what's your point?" Spike asked confused.

"Well he was part demon technically right? I mean that's how it works. But he still had all of his humanity and his soul. He was still the same old Oz he had always been. I never realised that before. It was right there in front of all of our faces and yet it was so easy to forget what he is."

"You knew him before you found out what he was. You let yourself forget that he had a demon inside of him because you didn't know that when you got to know him. The same as Peaches. You didn't know he was a vamp until after you got to know and trust him. You all let him in just like you let Oz stay around after you found out. Not all demons are bad or soulless Luv. You need to work on remembering that. Not everything is black and white and not everyone fits into this box that you make."

"I know that and I'm trying. Maddie seems really nice and she has great fashion sense. How long have you known her?"

"I've known her parents for sixty years now. Shifters will live a longer life than most people same as werewolves. They still age, but not as fast something that Oz will find out one day if he doesn't already know. I met her a few months after they took her in. She was guarded and was having trouble keeping her animal under control. Shifters tend to have more problems when they reach their teenage years as the animal inside of them grows more powerful. I helped her with a few techniques to keep the animal in check that worked for me and my demon. Every time I was in town I made sure I stopped in to check in on her."

"That's really cool. So your demon, Angel once said that most vampires can't get control over their demon until they are hundreds of years old. That if it hadn't been for his soul he wouldn't have been able to control his demon. Yet you're not even two hundred and you seem to have great control over your demon. How is that?" Buffy asked with genuine interest.

Spike took a drink from his glass before he answered.

"I don't know. I've always had control over my demon ever since I was turned. I don't know why. When I was turned I went and got blood from the butchers and I went home. I took care of my Mum for a month before I even first killed anyone. Afterwards being with Angelus, Dru and Darla I let my demon out to play, but I always had control over it. I didn't torture or kill any children. I never raped anyone. My kills were clean, a lot, but clean. When I felt the demon getting out of line I would meditate and keep it in check. I've never felt like both halves of myself are fighting against each other they just live in harmony. Why I don't know. Maybe I was made wrong I don't know. Normally though, it does take a long time before a vamp can have complete control over their demon. Angelus doesn't even have complete control. The guilt that the soul brought keeps him in check now, but it doesn't take away the urges or the cravings. And he was killing with us after his soul, right up to the end of the Boxer Rebellion when Darla kicked him out for been too broody."

"Wait hold up. He was still killing after he got his soul? He told me that he stopped because the guilt was so much it consumed him. He said he spent a century living underground eating rat blood until he was told by Whistler to come and find me."

"He did end up living underground eating off of rats until he found you. And that was from the guilt and loneliness of not bein' in the family. But he still killed for a while afterwards with us. He didn't torture, but he killed. It wasn't a hundred years he spent underground."

"Bastard lied to me." Buffy said angrily.

"He lied to you often you just refused to see it Luv."

"Ya I'm starting to see that a bit here. What's with the name Angel anyways? Who names their kid that?" Buffy said as she rolled her eyes and took a drink from her glass.

"His name was William. Used to call him Liam, because well William and William gets old and annoying as fuck at times. So I called him Liam and he used to call me Willy drove me bloody nuts. Then he started callin' me Will or my boy. Anyways, he was a drunk and a man whore even by today's standards. He slept with the servants who were barely thirteen, hence why the gypsies made it so he couldn't have sex for all eternity. When Darla found him she didn't hide what she was. He knew exactly what was going to happen and he willingly got turned. The second he came out of the earth he was a killing maniac. Killed his whole family, his friends, he even killed his sweet nine year old sister. Its why I hate when people compare me to him, because we are nothing alike."

"Wow didn't know any of that. Didn't you kill your family or get turned willingly?" Buffy asked calmly.

"No I bloody didn't. I got murdered in a side alley. I love Dru, I always will we have a bond I can't change that. She's not the love of my life, but she will always have a spot in my heart. Doesn't change that she killed me when I was alone and vulnerable. She used her thrall on me to keep me from fighting her, not that it would have been much of a fight. I wasn't a fighter. Afterwards like I said I went and got blood and then went home. I didn't want to be turned and he did. I didn't come out killing from bloodlust. We're not the same at all and I hate when people compare us, because he could never be me even if he was human all over again."

"I'm sorry for comparing you to him so much. You're right you both are different you can tell that even when he didn't have his soul. I trusted you enough to hold your word in that truce. I left you alone with my mother and you didn't even hurt her. I couldn't trust him with Willow's goldfish. I'm sorry you were killed that couldn't have been easy to deal with." Buffy said sincerely.

"Demon makes it easier. But it was hard and weird grieving your own death. I never really lived when I was human. I always did what I was told and expected to do. In death I found life. I got to explore the world and try different foods. I took in plays and musicals. I went to concerts and learned how to drive a car and other vehicles. There was a lot of fun and good things I did that didn't involve killing. What about you? What were you like before the sacred call?" Spike asked looking to get the conversation off from him and focused on her. He was going to take advantage of the rare opportunity that Buffy was in a talking mood.

"I was Cordelia." Buffy simply stated and Spike groaned. "I know right? I was a young teenager I had no idea anything like this even existed. When I was fifteen I got called and my first Watcher Merrick came and told me what I was. I thought he was a looneybin escapee. But then out of nowhere vamps and demons started trying to kill me and my powers came in. I was supposed to have had a Watcher before I was called, but I was missed in the roaster. That first year I was in my freshmen year and the night of the end of the year dance a pack of vampires attacked along with Lothos a master vamp. It was a total mess. Merrick died and I burnt the school gym down just to get rid of all of the vamps. I was expelled, my parents got a divorce and we moved here while my dad stayed in L.A."

"That had to of been hard on you Luv. To go from being a normal everyday girl and turn into something else overnight. Fighting for your life all of the time. It's not easy to adjust to. You've lived longer than most of the Slayers do and you have your family and your friends to help you it's what will keep you alive longer. It gives you something to ground you and keep you fighting even when your body and mind are screamin' at you to just quit and take the death."

"You said all Slayers have a death wish though."

"They do, they have to in order to do what they do. If you didn't have a death wish you would be curled up in the corner of your room refusing to go anywhere. There's a difference between having a death wish and wishing for death. Slayers get old and they get tired. They go through this life alone and it's a hard road to go down alone, especially when those Wankers are controlling everythin' and tryin' to kill you off. When the end finally makes an appearance they start wishing for it. With you though, you got your friends and your family that is what is going to keep you pushing through. You've had struggles and you will again, but they have always been there for you."

"Ya they have been. They've been great I could never have expected to have friends like them in my life."

"I don't like em too much, but a bloke has got to respect em. They didn't have to go into this life, they chose it and they keep choosing it every single bloody day knowin' they could die at any moment. You gotta respect em for that." Spike said honestly.

"Ya they are pretty amazing." Buffy said with a genuine smile.

"Do you see your pop?" Spike asked as he took a drink and sat back and put his left arm over the back of the booth.

"Nope not since I've moved here with Mom. He used to call and when I was sixteen it was hard to not have him around. He got with someone else and has his own life. He doesn't call anymore." Buffy gave a shrug before she continued. "Whatever it's his loss."

"That it is Pet. You, your Mum and the Niblet are three amazing women. Take it from someone who has lived as long as I have and seen a lot of women. You three are amazing and any bloke would be the luckiest man in the world to have any of you three." Spike said honestly.

Buffy gave a smile as she spoke. "Thanks Spike."

Another woman came over to them and Spike gave her a smile as she approached them. She was human looking aside from the slightly purple tone to her skin in a few spots. She was very attractive. She had black hair that was shoulder length, she was five foot five with an hour glass figure. She had on dark purple leather pants and a dark purple sparkle halter top on that showed off her pierced belly button and tight abs. She was very sexy and Buffy couldn't help but wonder if Spike knew any unattractive women. The woman leaned her right hip against the table top as she smiled and spoke to Spike.

"Long time no see stranger."

"That it has Pet. How have you been?" Spike asked with his flirty smirk.

"Good. I've missed you. Who's your friend?"

"This is Buffy. Buffy this is Crystal."

"It's nice to meet you." Buffy said with a friendly smile.

"You too. Be careful of this one, he ruined men for me."

Spike let out a laugh at that.

"What can I say Pet I'm just that good." Spike said with a cocky smile.

"You really are. Be careful one night with him and sex will never be the same again." Crystal said to Buffy.

"Oh no we're just friends. No sex between us I have a boyfriend." Buffy said automatically.

"Well that might be a good thing. You'll never know just how amazing it can be with him. It won't ruin men for you."

"Like you would change a thing." Spike said with a smirk.

"Not for all the money in the world. It was one hell of a night and day for that matter." Crystal said with a smile.

"It was very good thirty-seven hours." Spike said with a smile back.

"You owe me still from last year. I plan on collecting tonight mister." Crystal said.

"Really? Tonight?" Spike asked with a groan.

"Oh right now. Come on it'll only take a few minutes and then you'll be done."

"Does it matter that I don't want to at all?"

"Not in the least. Get up you." Crystal turned to Buffy. "Don't worry you can see him the whole time. You'll enjoy this he's very good."

"Ya I don't know how to take that." Buffy said completely unsure of what is going on.

"You'll see. Come on Spike up, up, up." Crystal said as she turned and walked towards the stage.

"What is going on?" Buffy asked with concern.

"Nothin' to worry about Luv. I'll be right back." Spike said as he got out of the booth and headed towards the stage.

Buffy didn't know what was going on so she turned her attention to the stage and watched Spike and Crystal talking softly to each other and the band members on the stage. Buffy didn't understand what was going to happen, but at least she could see Spike. After a moment Crystal picked up the mic and began to speak.

"How are you guys doing tonight?"

Buffy heard as everyone cheered and they all looked ready for some more music.

"We got a special guest for this first number. Some of you have heard him before so you know you are in for a treat. Let's get this party started." Crystal said before she turned to her band and they began to play.

Buffy was now very interested as she saw a mic in Spike's hand. He was going to sing and Buffy couldn't help the smile on her face as the song began.

 _Crystal  
I know there's something in the wake of your smile  
I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yeah  
You've built a love but that love falls apart  
Your little piece of heaven turns too dark_

 _Listen to your heart  
When he's calling for you  
Listen to your heart  
There's nothing else you can do_

 _I don't know where you're going  
And I don't know why  
But listen to your heart  
Before you tell him goodbye_

 _Yeah, yeah, yeah-eah_

 _Spike  
Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile  
The precious moments are all lost in the tide, yeah_

 _Spike and Crystal  
They're swept away and nothing is what it seems_

 _Spike  
The feeling of belonging (Crystal Belonging to your dreams)_

 _Spike  
Listen to your heart_

 _Spike and Crystal  
When he's calling for you  
Listen to your heart  
There's nothing else you can do_

 _(I don't) know where you're going  
(And) I don't know why  
But listen to your heart  
Before (you) tell him goodbye_

 _Oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _And there are voices  
That want to be heard  
So much to mention  
But you can't find the words_

 _Crystal  
A sense of magic  
The beauty that's been (Spike Beauty that's been)  
When love was wilder (than the wind)_

 _Spike  
Listen to your heart_

 _Spike and Crystal  
When he's calling for you_

 _Crystal  
Listen to your heart (Spike Listen to your heart)  
There's nothing_

 _Spike and Crystal  
Else you can do_

 _I don't know where you're going  
And I don't know why_

 _Crystal  
But listen to your heart (Spike Listen to your heart)_

 _Spike and Crystal  
Before, oh_

 _Listen to your heart_

 _Spike  
Listen to your heart_

 _Crystal  
Take a listen to it_

 _Spike and Crystal  
Whoa_

 _(I don't) know where you're going  
And I don't know why  
But listen to your heart  
Before you tell him goodbye_

As the song ended Buffy couldn't believe what she had heard. She had no idea that Spike could sing like that. She never even imagined that Spike could sing at all let alone sound so good. She found herself clapping and smiling as Spike got off the stage and the next song began. She watched as another demon came over to him, but a male this time. He pulled Spike into a hug and spoke into Spike's ear. She watched as Spike spoke back calmly. After a moment they broke apart and Spike headed over to the booth again. He sat down and Buffy could see he was looking a little shy. She just smiled at him and gently punched his arm.

"Why didn't you ever tell me you could sing?"

"When exactly would that have come up in conversation?"

"I don't know, but my point still stands."

"It's not something I advertise. I'm supposed to be the Big Bad I can't be caught singing."

"Ya I don't believe that at all. You got this shyness to you right now. What's the real reason?"

Spike downed the rest of his drink before he left out a sigh before he turned to face Buffy.

"When I was human I was really shy and quiet. Like I said I went all the way to University and that wasn't common if you were from a wealthy family. Ever since I started school when I was a young lad I had been shy and awkward. People didn't like me because I only had a mum and not a mum and a pop. I was small too and that didn't help anythin'. I got bullied a lot, beat up a lot. I used to play the piano and violin for my Mum and sometimes I would sing for her. One of the kids over heard one day and that made the bullyin' even worse. When I was eight we went on this end of the year class trip to the local zoo. It just opened up a few months back and we were all excited little kiddies to go and see it. The teach left to take the girls to the Lou. The eight other boys were with me and they pushed me into one of the pens. It was the bear pen. They took off runnin' and left me there with this mamma black bear and her cubs. She kept growling and snapping at me. Scared the hell out of me. I was trapped there for bout twenty minutes before someone who worked there got me out. She swiped out at me a few times and I had to go get stitches from it. Everyone said I must have fallen in. No one believed me when I said that I was pushed in. I stopped singin' after that and almost never played any instruments either. So I don't really sing unless I have to. On the occasion I need a favor from Crystal and that's what she expects as payment."

"That is really horrible. Is that why you freaked at Thanksgiving last year when the Indian turned into a bear?"

"Native American and yes I am terrified of bears. I used to have nightmares about it even years later. I hate bears."

"I'm sorry that happened to you. You have a great voice you don't have to be shy about it."

"Thanks Luv."

"You are really screwing up my world here. I've always been told that a vampire is just a demon wearing the face of their victim. They don't have emotions or feel anything, but the urge to kill. Yet here you are with a fear from when you were human and emotions. Really screwing up my world here." Buffy said with a small smile.

"Kinda the point isn't it Luv? To show you that the world you have been believing and taught isn't the world at all. Vamps and demons have emotions and memories. I remember being human. I remember being turned. I still feel everything that I did when I was human. Some vamps are too young to be able to control their demon so it comes across that they don't have emotions. Some have no desire to control their demon so they let it do whatever it wants. I have control over my demon. My demon and my human half live in harmony. I don't fight my emotions or try and pretend like I don't have a demon in me like Angel does. I'm just me Luv."

"You know I'm starting to see that. I shouldn't have been judging you for so long. You really are a good man Spike. When you want to be." Buffy said with a smile.

"With people who don't judge or make assumptions about me. I can be. It's why I love this demon community. There's no judgements or assumptions about people. They go off of what they have seen with their own eyes. I've never harmed a demon that is innocent or harmless. It doesn't matter how many people I have killed to them, because I've always been there for them. I'm not the only vamp in the community or the only demon that has killed someone before. It's not about your past here it's about who you are and who you have been with the community. You can just be yourself here and no one looks at you like you're a monster."

"Ya I can see how that would be nice. The chance just to be yourself without judgement sounds really nice. For the longest time I wanted to be normal. Just a normal girl all over again. Then I lost my powers when I was eighteen thanks to Giles and the Council and I was helpless all over again. I hated being weak and not being able to defend myself. Still though once I got my powers back I still wanted that normal life. Just to be able to go out on a date and not have to worry about some vamp attacking me. At least with Riley I don't have to worry too much. He already knows about the whole Slayer gig so that helps to be somewhat normal."

"That's what I don't get bout you. Why do you want to be normal? You were destined to be something so much more than normal. You were chosen to be a warrior, a goddess of light. A protector of innocent and defenseless beings. You were hand chosen out of the entire world. Why the hell would you want to be normal?" Spike asked amazed.

"When you say it like that, it sounds pretty stupid wanting to be normal. Maybe that's my problem. I spend so much time and effort on wishing and wanting to be normal when I'm not meant to be. It's not easy though accepting that I won't have a semi-normal life. I'm taking these business courses but I don't even know why I'm even bothering with college. It's not like I can actually be anything besides a Slayer."

"But you can be. Other Slayers have worked and owned their own businesses. You can own your own business Luv."

"In what? Killing 101?"

"You could open a martial arts studio. Teach self-defence to people. You could work in security. You could own your own shop. There's a lot you could do Luv and still be a Slayer. You get some business courses under your belt and you can take what you learnt and start your own business."

"Ya I guess. I never thought of it like that. I could open some martial arts studio and teach people."

"Being a Slayer doesn't mean your life has to end. Your life is just beginning Luv and as long as I am around no nasty is going to be gettin' it's one good day. You're like Peaches constantly fighting what's inside of you. Puttin' both halves against each other when you need to let both parts of you live in harmony. You'll always be a Slayer no matter what you do, but you will also always be a woman. As long as you make sure you get the best of both worlds you'll be truly happy and not just half way there. Accept who you are Luv because you are an amazing woman and you're only going to get more amazing." Spike said honestly.

"Thank-you Spike that is really sweet and actually really helpful. You're right I need to take a page from your book and find a way to have both parts of who I am live in harmony together. Hopefully I can figure that out."

"You will. I believe in you. You've managed to save the world how many times now? You survived all of that and you can survive this."

"Assuming I can survive a Hell God." Buffy said with a slight worry tone.

"You will. We will kick the bitch's ass."

"Well I'm glad one of us is feeling confident in that. It does make me feel better knowing you were able to hurt her."

"Ya it worked out real well for me." Spike said sarcastically.

"I know, but now you know what you are up against so you'll be more prepared. We both will be."

"Too right we will be. I plan on workin' you hard. In a day or two me and you are goin' to start training. I'll make a fighter out of you yet."

"Oh you're going to teach me? Alright bring it on and we will see who learns something." Buffy said with confidence.

"Oh you'll learn plenty from me Koro." Spike said with a flirty smirk.

"Koro? What does that mean?"

"You'll find out one day. Now Crystal is full demon, she's a Knficker. She can fight pretty good and has a slight psychic ability."

"Nice change of subject. What is slight psychic abilities?"

"She can see flashes of memories if she touches something of meaning of someone else. She can control it now, but when she was younger it was over powering and at the worst she couldn't even touch anything without getting visions from it. The older the article the more the visions flash at her. She's able to control it now though, age has a lot to do with it."

"How old is she?"

"Just over three hundred."

"And when did you meet her?"

"I first met her just after the Boxer Rebellion. She was getting attacked by a pack of demons. They wanted her for her psychic abilities. I helped her out and brought her back to my place to help patch her up. We became friends and saw each other over the years."

"And Drusilla didn't mind you bringing home a woman?"

"She wasn't there. There were a lot of times when she would go off on her own. She normally hooked up with some other demon or Sired someone and she would be gone for a few days to a few months before she came back. Usually resulted in her killing her play toy before coming back to me when she couldn't take care of herself on her own. She always came back starving and her mind was unstable even more than usual. It always took me a few months to get her back to a more stable level."

"How many times would she do that?"

"About a hundred or so."

"And you always took her back. Why? I mean I get the whole Sire thing but still." Buffy asked confused.

"Because I loved her and she needed someone to take proper care of her. She turned me, but she wasn't my Sire. Angelus took that place it's his mark on me not hers."

"Ok now I have two questions. How is that possible and second why would you keep taking her back no matter how much you loved her? You knew she was going to do it all over again."

"First, Angelus didn't know Dru sired anyone. He had always killed the people she Sired because she was too unstable to take proper care of them, to teach them. Most of the time she forgot all about em and Angelus would find out later and go and kill them. He didn't with me he wanted to make me one of his own for reasons I don't want to talk about right now. He made a Sire claim on me taking the responsibility for me and severing the bond between me and Dru."

"Right that whole adoption thing. I just don't understand why Angel or any vampire would do that. Seems like a lot of responsibility just for the hell of it."

"He had his reasons. Second, I loved her, but I was also very loyal to her. She was completely innocent before Angelus got his hands on her. She was a Seer and back in our days that could go either way. People either believed it was a gift from God or they thought you were possessed by a demon and was doing the Devil's work. Dru got more of the later than the former. Angelus found her and killed her whole family and had her believe that she was at fault. As a result she went to a convent and wanted to take her vows. Angelus found her again and made her watch as he killed every single Sister there. It made her insane and then instead of killing her and letting her be at peace he Sired her and the grief and guilt made her even more insane. Sometimes she would have moments where her mind was completely clear and she swore she was right back there surrounded by her fellow sisters and their bodies, covered in their blood. She used to beg me to kill her. A few times I caught her outside waiting for the sunrise."

"That's horrible." Buffy said with disgust at what had happened to someone that had been innocent before being murdered.

"That was your true love. Dru killed me, but I could never hate her for it. No matter how many times she would cheat on me. No matter how many times she lost it and attacked me thinking I was trying to hurt her. Nothing ever mattered because she was innocent in her mind. She wouldn't have survived on her own. She doesn't know how to love because she was never in love when she was human and Angelus has twisted her mind into believing pain is love and the more physical pain they put you through the more they love you. I could never turn her away. Even if she showed up at my door I would still let her in and take care of her. I'm not in love with her anymore, but I do love her and I'll always be there when she needs me."

"I get that. I'll always be there for Angel. I'm sorry she kept leaving you and cheating on you. Most men would never take someone back after the first time, but you did and kept doing it because she needed you. Why didn't you go to her once you got the chip in your head? Wouldn't she have been able to bring you bodies?"

"She isn't one to help Pet. I was in that wheelchair a lot longer than I had to be cause she wouldn't bring me anything to eat for days. She could have just given me her blood, but that was never an interest in her. She had no problem takin' mine though. If I had made it all the way to South America she wouldn't have been any help. It doesn't matter it's all in the past. There's a lot I would have liked to not have experienced, but if I hadn't come to you I wouldn't have known the Niblet. I wouldn't trade knowin' her for the world Koro."

"Good. I'm glad you are here for all of this too. So back to demons. Is Crystal rare like Maddie?"

"She's not rare, but her kind are far and few between. They're more like endangered then almost extinct like Maddie. There are thousands upon thousands of breeds of demons. Some are really common like vamps and others are almost completely extinct. With so many different breeds the numbers are always shifting. One breed could have a thousand members within it and be considered almost extinct. It depends on that breed of demon and their history."

"Like different nationalities. So who is here tonight?"

"Well that blue demon with the small red horns, he's a Dmispher."

"And what does that breed do?"

"Not much actually. They are mostly lawyers and accountants. They have strength and can fight, but they don't tend to unless their family is being attacked. If you see them in a fight they have a good reason for it and they will listen to reason."

"Good to know. Who else?"

They spent the next few hours just sitting there talking about different types of demons there was in the lounge and in Sunnydale that were all innocent and harmless. Buffy would still need to study the books so she could really see what they looked like and memorized them all, but it was a good start at least. They headed back to the house and they got back just before eleven. They headed inside and they made sure they whispered.

"That place was actually a lot of fun. I should bring the gang there if you think we wouldn't get kicked out." Buffy whispered to Spike as he closed and locked the door behind him.

"No you should be fine as long as the Whelp doesn't cause any trouble."

"He should be fine, if not it can be just a girls night out. I'm not really tired do you want a cup of cocoa?"

"I never say no to cocoa." Spike said with a smile.

"Why is that?" Buffy asked as they headed into the kitchen.

"My Mum used to make it for me. It was one of the very few things she would ever make for me. Normally it was the cooks or the servants that did."

"I didn't even think there was cocoa back then." Buffy said as she turned the kettle on and got down two mugs, the cocoa and a part bag of little marshmallows.

"They didn't have it like they do now. Back then you had to melt these bars of pure chocolate on the stove and then add in cream or milk. It took a little bit to get it ready."

"So the powder stuff doesn't even compare?" Buffy asked with a smile.

"Still tastes good. I'll make you some the old fashion way one day and you can tell me."

"Deal. I will never say no to chocolate."

"Just don't take any from a stranger." Spike joked.

"I heard that a lot when I was a kid. I swear it was like my parents thought I would walk off with anyone holding a chocolate bar." Buffy said as she got the cocoa ready into mugs before she added some little marshmallows to each mug and set them down in front of her and Spike as they sat down on the stools.

"Did you ever go off on your own?"

"Not when I was a kid, but once I found out about being a Slayer then I snuck out a lot at night."

"Why didn't you ever tell them?"

Buffy took a small sip of her cocoa as Spike did the same waiting for her answer.

"I actually did. It was just after I burnt down the gym. My boyfriend and me at the time went out to Las Vegas to hunt vampires that summer. When we returned I told my parents what happened to the gym and that I was the Slayer. They thought I was crazy and they committed me to an insane asylum. I was there for a few weeks and only because I told the doctors that I was just crying out for attention. After that my parents divorced and my mom and me moved here. I never mentioned it again until that night of our truce. My dad still doesn't know and I don't care if he does or not."

"I'm sorry Koro that happened to you. You and your Mum are good now though."

"We are, but there were some hard feelings at first. I mean I get it. If it was my daughter telling me those things I wouldn't believe it either. I would now, because hello lived it, but my point still stands. She did what she thought was best and I know she feels bad about it. Did other Slayers have family members that knew?"

"I don't know about that one. Most fought alone and didn't live long. The few that did fought alone outside of their Watcher. Your friends and family is what will make you live a very long life."

"Well considering I've already died once it would be nice to live until I'm ninety, but I won't hold my breath on it."

"As long as I'm around you'll live a very long and happy life."

"We'll see if I make it passed the Hell God."

"We'll figure it out. Red will find that book and we can see if there is a weakness in there. You and your lot took down Machine Man you can take down this Hell Bitch."

"We need to the world and Dawn's life are at stake. We can't lose this one."

"And we won't. We'll figure it out. That's what you hero types do, you save the world."

"I hope so. It just seems like a lot this time around. The other times it was straight forward and uncomplicated. This time around though it's my sister's life on the line. Plus my mom is just fresh out of brain surgery. Not to mention this whole Initiative thing and Riley is going back to work for them."

"It's more personal this time around. The memories are there, but you know they aren't real. It hasn't changed how you felt about her so of course it's personal. Apocalypses come all the time to you. It's just one more, but this time around it's your little sis that holds the key to it. If it wasn't personal to you, I would be worried."

"She feels like my sister. I know the memories are monk made, but she still feels like my sister. Even mom said she feels like hers. Its all that really matters. People get amnesia all the time and they still love their family because they feel it towards them. It's the same thing just with memories that never happened."

"That's all that matters Koro. As long as you love her the rest doesn't matter. We'll keep her alive. My Niblet isn't gonna be dyin' before me."

"I believe you. If there is one thing I know about you it's that you will do anything you can to protect someone you love. I know you love Dawnie."

"That I do. You Summers women seem to be getting under my skin. You're killin' my reputation."

"Like you care about that. And please it was ruined a long time ago." Buffy said with a smirk.

"It was not and I only care about my rep with the right people. As long as the demon community knows they can trust me and they respect me that's good enough. The rest I'll just kill. Not that I'm complaining here, but why didn't you tell Captain Cardboard about the Bit?"

"I trust him, but I don't know if he will see things my way. I know arguing that if you kill the human host of this Hell Bitch that it would end things. But I know you could argue that if you kill the Key then the portal will never be able to open and it will stop this whole mess."

"Over my dead body." Spike growled.

"That's why I told you and not Riley. I know if it came down to it he would rationalize Dawnie's death. He probably would even try to convince me that because she was never truly alive during my memories that her death won't affect me."

"Bullshit it won't. Niblet's death won't change how you feel about her magically. You and your mum would still grieve her death. Besides with the Key dead Hell Bitch doesn't die. You would still have to figure out how to kill her. It doesn't solve anythin'."

"Ya you see it that way and I see it that way, but there's no guarantee that he would see it that way. I told Angel as a backup just in case one of us dies. He's got the best chance after us of protecting Dawnie and killing Glory."

"I get that. End of the world would get in his way of redemption." Spike said as he half rolled his eyes.

"I get that you both don't like each other, but he Sired you. He didn't have to do that, claim you as his own. So there must have been a liking between the two of you at some point right?"

Spike let out a small sigh and Buffy could see him trying to figure out what to say. After a moment Spike spoke.

"I didn't see him or any other vampire for that first month. I took care of my Mum from the moment I crawled out of the ground. I would hunt for animals at night in the woods to get blood. When I died she got rid of the servants and the cooks. She couldn't deal with it anymore. When I came back she didn't question anything. She thought God was giving her, her son back. I didn't even know what I was. I just knew I needed blood and the sun hurt my skin. I had no idea vampires even existed. I heard rumors about killers in the streets that were biting people, but I had never thought it was anything more than insane people. After a month Dru must have remembered she turned me and told Angelus. He came looking for me and he obviously found me. I came back from hunting that night to find him in my house. He was standing over my mum's body, he killed her. He was going to kill me like he did to all of Dru's other childes in the past. I didn't even know I could fight, I had no idea about anything that I could do. He had me up against the wall with a leg of the chair in his hand over my heart. Then all of a sudden he stopped. He stared into my eyes for a few minutes before he dropped the leg."

"Why didn't he kill you?" Buffy asked softly.

"He said he saw something in me that was too special to kill. He had only ever sired two people before Penn and Dru. Penn had left him long ago before he sired Dru. He said that they were both disappointments, but he believed I wouldn't be. He told me that I was gonna be his and I would never feel alone ever again. He claimed me right there and I claimed him back. I didn't even know I was doing it, the demon took over. It was like the demon knew there was something important missing and Angelus was giving it up. He brought me home with him and I met Darla and Dru. He taught me how to fight. He showed me how to kill a human. He didn't like it too much that I didn't have much of a bloodlust or desire to kill. The demon in me though wanted to make him proud so I pushed the more human side of me down to let the demon out more. There were a lot of bad things that happened between us. He used to get bored and just torture me for days until something else entertained him. There were a lot of bad times enough to anger the demon and hurt it."

"There must have been something good though right? I mean decades you were together there must have been a good time somewhere along the way."

"There were. He was like a big brother to me. He taught me how to live. It's ironic that I never lived until I died. He taught me how to fight, how to survive. We were really close so close that Darla used to get pissed off because she thought he cared more for me than for her, his own Sire. I still don't know what it was that he saw in my eyes to make him think I was special, but he always fought to keep it. Whatever it was. He told me a few times that he wasn't going to let anyone take it away from me. He taught me how to draw and I taught him how to play the piano. On a lot of nights we would get a fire going and take our shirts off and just lay down in front of the fireplace feeling the heat. We would stay up all night just talking about nothing or everything. He was my big brother that saved me from a pain that I didn't even know was there. I love him and I hate him at the same time." Spike admitted.

"Why the hate though? Or is it because of the horrible things he did to you?"

"I wish I could say that was why, but it's not. We're demons, half-demon, but still a demon. Demons can be violent and they associate caring and love with pain. My demon can understand that what Angelus did was his demon's way of making me stronger and bonding with me. It's twisted, but I can understand it. It's not just the demon in me, the human part of me is hurt by him. He abandoned me when he left after the Boxer Rebellion. His soul made it so he couldn't keep living that life. I lost my Sire and my big brother that day and that hurt turns into hate. He hates me because of the guilt he feels when he looks at me. I'm a reminder of some of the horrible things he did."

"He came down here to give you his blood though. He obviously still cares about you."

"He does and I would have done the same to him."

"Why didn't you go to Angel when you got the chip? He would have taken you in."

"He would have, but it would have caused problems for him with his humans. I didn't want to put him through that and I didn't know how he would react to it. At least with you and your lot I knew the Watcher would be more interested in the Commandos and how the chip worked. You wouldn't hurt anyone that couldn't fight back. Red is too sweet to say anything and Demon Girl wouldn't have care. You could handle the Whelp. Going to you was a better gamble. Are you wishing I went to him instead?"

"No I was just curious why you didn't. It makes sense though, I mean you guys have been a family for a century. Dawnie and me have only been sisters for fourteen years and we have had plenty of fights. It makes sense that you both would love and hate each other at the same time. You have a lot more years together than most families ever get."

"That we do Pet." Spike said with a smirk.

They spent the next two hours just talking about life and past experiences. Buffy found herself enjoying the time and company with Spike and learning more about the better part of his existence. It was just after one in the morning when they finally decided to head up to bed. Spike was still healing from his attack with Glory and he needed to rest just as much as Buffy did after being up all day. Buffy's room was right next to the guest room where Spike was sleeping in. They both leaned against the door frame to each of their rooms and made sure to keep their voices barely a whisper.

"I had a good time tonight. It's been a while since I've had that much fun and never around demons. Thank-you for taking me there and teaching me."

"Anytime. I had fun too. Turns out you're not so horrible when you're not punching me in the nose." Spike said with a smirk.

"Ya I'm sorry about that it's just so punchable. You're not so bad when you aren't trying to be evil and just being yourself." Buffy said before she let out a big yawn. Spike smiled at her as he spoke.

"Get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night Spike."

"Good night Koro." Spike said with a warm smile.

Buffy gave Spike a warm smile before she headed into her room and Spike did the same. He was tired and his body was still working on healing himself. He felt good and he loved every moment he got to spend with Buffy tonight and got to learn about her. They weren't dating, but they were at least friends and for Spike that was good enough for him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It wasn't until four the next day did Buffy walk into the Magic Shop. She had slept until eleven and then got up to clean the house up a bit and help her Mom out. Now she was going to see everyone and pick up Dawn. She knew that Dawn was going to come here today after school to get Willow to help her with some math homework. Spike was still sleeping when she left and she figured that if he wasn't up by the time her and Dawn got back that she would wake him up to get him to drink some blood. Rest was good to help him heal, but he also needed the blood to get him the rest of the way.

Buffy walked into the Magic Shop and saw that everyone was already there including Riley. He was in some army pants and an army green t-shirt so she figured he had been at work today. They hadn't actually talked about him going back to work at the Initiative, but she knew he was going to. She wasn't happy about it and she was upset that he didn't seem to care what she thought of it. At the same time though, they weren't married so it wasn't like she really got much of an opinion in the matter anyways. He smiled at her and came over to give her a hug. Buffy hugged back as he spoke.

"Hey babe. I missed you."

"Hey. I missed you too." Buffy said as she pulled back and walked over to the table as she spoke to the others. "Hey guys. What's up?"

"Homework right now. I'm helping Dawnie with her math homework." Willow said.

"And I'm trolling for jobs in the paper to see if there are any new sites coming up that I can get on." Xander said clearly not too happy that he wasn't working with the same company.

"Oh Spike will have something for you in a day or two probably if you don't mind working for him." Buffy said as she sat down in a free seat.

"Defend work for?" Xander asked.

"Well not so much as work for, but on his house." Buffy explained.

"Who sells a house to a vampire?" Riley asked disgusted at the idea.

"There are lots of vampires that live in houses. Mostly in the demon community." Anya said as she looked up from her paperwork.

"There's an actual community for demons?" Riley asked.

"Of course there is. It's made up of harmless and innocent demons. They own businesses and homes there." Anya simply said.

"And why have we not gone down there and killed them?" Riley asked annoyed that they had allowed this to continue.

"Because they are harmless and innocent." Anya said back not liking what Riley was saying. She had been a part of that community for over a thousand years and she knew a great deal of demons within it.

"No such thing where demons are concerned. Did you know about this?" Riley asked Buffy.

"I just found out two days ago. I went there last night." Buffy answered.

"With Spike. I don't know when they got in, but it was late. I heard them still talking just after midnight downstairs. Must have been a lot of fun." Dawn said not knowing that it wouldn't have made things better.

"You went with Spike to a demon community last night when you told me you were going to stay in with your mom and sister. That's why you couldn't come over. You lied to me." Riley said with anger in his voice.

Dawn looked over at Buffy and gave her an apologetic look and mouthed sorry at her sister. She didn't know that Riley had no idea what she was doing last night or that she was with Spike.

"It's not that big of a deal Riley. I didn't tell you were I was going, because I knew you would overact and not understand."

"Understand what? That you went into a demon community with Spike, a soulless thing. What the hell is it even doing in your house still? It should be dust or the very least in its crypt where it belongs." Riley said with disgust.

"He's not an it Riley. Spike is male and isn't some thing." Willow said disgusted that Riley continued to refer to Spike as an it, something that didn't even deem worthy of mention.

"It stopped being a he, a person when the demon took over. You should know that with as long as you have been dealing with those creatures." Riley said condescending to Willow.

"Hey don't talk to her like that. Like it or not Spike is male and even though he is a vampire we don't call him an it or a creature. He's been helping out a lot lately and he's the one that almost died to protect Joyce and Dawnie." Xander said.

"Quite right. Spike is going to be a very strong asset to have, especially in this upcoming fight we have on our hands with a Hell God. If we act like the demons and vampires we slay then we are no better than them. You want to be a part of this team you need to start to remember that and change your way of thinking." Giles said sternly.

"Ya I'm the one that needs to change my thinking. You're the ones with demon friends all over the place. You didn't even answer my question why you were with Spike last night? Why would you let it take you anywhere?" Riley asked Buffy with anger in his voice.

"Because they are all harmless and innocent and I wanted to see them and get to know that community so I don't kill any of them. I'm not here to kill every demon and vampire there is. I'm here to protect the innocent, even if that is a demon. Spike is helping me learn the difference and what it means to be a true Slayer." Buffy said back not even wavering slightly.

"Giles is your Watcher, he should be the one teaching you these things. A vampire doesn't know anything about what it means to be good and to be a Slayer." Riley said back.

"Actually, Spike knows a great deal about Slayers, more so than me. He has knowledge that has been blocked from the Watcher's Council for political reasons. He has books that he is going to give to me so I can read them and better understand the Slayer myself. He is more intelligent than he comes across something we should be using instead of ignoring. Spike has a vast knowledge of demons and their customs. He is the perfect teacher in this situation." Giles said.

"He's also going to start training me and teaching me how to fight Glory." Buffy said.

"Really?" Giles asked shocked, but very interested.

"It'll just try to kill you Buffy. Have you lost your mind? If you need help training I will help you. It shouldn't even be in your house and around your family. But letting that thing train you is stupid. It'll just mess around so you can get killed easier." Riley said with anger.

"Stop calling Spike an it!" Dawn yelled clearly getting upset at Riley.

"Riley, Spike and me are friends. We hung out last night and I didn't tell you because this is how you react every single time I tell you about Angel or I mention Spike. Spike is going to help me train. He's not doing it so I'll die he's doing it because he wants me to live. You are not strong enough to spar with me and he has literally a century of fighting experience and knowledge I would be stupid not to take him up on the offer. If that is a problem for you then you don't have to be there. I'm not fighting with you over Spike anymore. He is my friend and he is part of this team. If you don't like it then don't be here when Spike is around. I'm not going to keep fighting with you over Spike." Buffy said clearly having enough of this argument with Riley.

"It's going to get you killed. I don't trust it and I don't see how you or anyone could." Riley said angry that Buffy was once again picking a vampire over him.

"That's your opinion, that's how you see it, but we don't. We knew him before he got the chip in his head. We see how much he has changed and we know that there is always an exception to every rule. Spike cares whether you want to admit it or not he does and he is going to help me train. When this fight comes down he will be the one at my side fighting right alongside me. You need to accept that and get over it because I am not going to risk the fate of the world on this vendetta you have against Spike and all demons." Buffy said in a serious voice.

"Ya I'll just get use to the idea of you having a pet vampire and letting demons roam free because a vampire says they are harmless and innocent. I thought you were smarter than that." Riley said before he headed out of the shop and slammed the door behind him.

"What a jerk. Why are you dating him seriously?" Dawn asked with anger.

"He's just still thinking like he had to when he was in the Initiative. It's going to take some time for him to get a full view and understanding of this world." Buffy said in Riley's defense.

"He's still in the Initiative though Buff. What if that opinion of his only gets worse?" Willow said gently.

"Innocent demons could get hurt or killed." Tara said with worry.

"I know and if it comes down to the Initiative is back to their old tricks then we'll shut them down again. We'll keep an eye on it. Hopefully Riley cones around. If not then that just might be the end of us. I don't know, but it's not what I came here for." Buffy said trying to change the subject.

"Right, back to Spike buying a house. Did he find one?" Willow asked trying to help Buffy out.

"He's got a few options that he was going to go over today and decide which house, but they are all in bad shape and need to be renovated. He won't be leaving for about a month. Houses there are really cheap and they come with a few acres of land too." Buffy said amazed.

"Oh yes the demon community always has cheap housing for demons and their families. They operate differently there. The land isn't owned by an owner, the land is owned by the head builder. The demon or vampire in this case always pays everything right out so the land ownership is transferred to them. The houses are so cheap because most have to be renovated so the base price is around fifty thousand dollars. If the house is already existing or has been abandoned for some time then that money goes to the community so they can use it to build new houses or to help families in the community in need. The rest is the renovation cost and that is decided between the owner and the head builder, so it could be anywhere between a hundred thousand or up depending on what they want done to the house and how bad it is." Anya started.

"Wait it doesn't cost that much to build a house from the start let alone renovate it." Xander asked confused.

"No see that's how it works. So its normally a minimum of eighty grand and up depending on the house and what the owner wants done to it. The head builder then buys the supplies and they renovate the house. Once the cost of the materials are taken out of the final price then ten percent is taken out of that and put back into the business of the head builder and the rest is divided up among the men depending on their seniority within the company. So on average the new guy will make about twenty-five to thirty grand a job and the head builder could make over fifty thousand depending on the initial price." Anya explained.

"Wait what? Are you telling me that I could make twenty-five grand on a project that could last anywhere between two weeks to a month? On one project?" Xander asked shocked.

"That's correct. That's how it works in the demon community. How else do you think they are all so rich? Spike works for them doing translations and protection. Sometimes he deals with crimes against one of them done by a violent demon. He's very rich you know, like in the triple digits in the millions rich. You really should work for the demon community, you could be building your own house by the end of the year. It's very smart money." Anya said.

"So when is Spike picking out that house?" Xander asked Buffy with a smile.

"He said today he was going to decide. And I think he would let you in on the crew if you don't mind working with demons." Buffy answered.

"I could make some serious money so ya no I'm good with working with demons. Apparently I already have so why the hell not?" Xander said with a smile.

"Well come back with us and you can see which house he picked. He wasn't up when I left, but like Dawn said we were out late."

"Yes let's discuss that shall we. How was the community? Were there any problems?" Giles asked more interested in the demon community then Spike's living arrangements.

"No everyone was really nice. At first they weren't too sure, but they really warmed up to me and being with Spike helped. He took me to this lounge, which we have to go next Friday to. It's nicer than the Bronze and cheaper. They have a band and there are these fancy booths and even some really good food. And everyone is really nice and sweet. We are so going there." Buffy said.

"That sounds like fun." Willow said.

"It would be nice to try some place different." Tara agreed.

"Can I come?" Dawn asked.

"Maybe. I don't know though how mom would feel about it, but maybe." Buffy said

"I'm down. I miss the demon bars. They are much nicer and more comfortable to be in." Anya said.

"Ya why not? I'm dating an ex-demon and I am going to be working with a bunch of them so why not?" Xander said with a smile.

"What demons did you see?" Giles asked once again more interested in the demons than the bar.

"Ok, ok, there were a bunch of them, but the ones you are gonna be more interested in are the Knficher."

"A Knficher? Really? They are very rare. They are demons with a purple tint to their skin otherwise they look human. They have the ability to see memories from touching an object of a person. Most have died out or been killed."

"Yup that's what Spike said. She was over three hundred years old. Her name was Crystal. Spike met her about eight decades ago when she was being attacked by other demons. He helped her out. He said that she had problems getting used to the power, but she was able to master her power and now she is fine. She's a singer at the lounge, she sang last night."

"That's fascinating. What other demons did you see?" Giles asked.

"Oh you know the same old same old ones. Oh I did meet this girl Maddie, she goes to our school in the business department actually. She's really sweet and only twenty-one." Buffy said to more Willow and Tara than the others.

"Really? What kind of demon is she?" Willow asked.

"She's not a demon. She's actually a tiger shifter." Buffy said with a smile to Giles and she could see his eyes lighting up at the mention of a different specie that he knew nothing about.

"A what?" Giles asked amazed.

"A tiger shifter. Apparently, there are other species out there that can shift into an animal, they're born that way. Spike said they are very rare and some are more rare than others. Tiger-shifters are pretty high up on the rare scale." Buffy said.

"This is amazing. I've never even heard of such a thing." Giles said amazed still and excited to learn more.

"Oh shifters aren't well known, at least not anymore. Back when I was demon and first starting out they were more common than a vampire or a demon. Humans were born with an animal spirit inside of them. Over the centuries they have been killed off or died out. Hunting accidents or being killed by an enemy. There used to be bear shifters, tiger shifters, wolf shifters, bird shifters, snake shifters, almost every animal there was a shifter for it. Now in the last three centuries they are slowly becoming extinct. Tiger shifters are the last of the cat breeds, the lion shifters died out a century ago and now there are less than a hundred tiger shifters in the whole world. Most shifters live in South America or Africa. It's unheard of for one to be in the States. Did Spike say why she came here?" Anya asked.

"Ya her mother got pregnant by an outsider and the pack leader told her she had to get rid of the baby before she could be let back into the pack. She put Maddie into the foster system in Africa. She ran away when she was thirteen when she was to be sold off to be a bride to someone. She came all the way here to Sunnydale and when she was fourteen the owners of the lounge found her and took her in. They are both werewolves and they knew what she was. She calls them mom and dad now and Spike has even known her since she was fifteen. He helped her get control of the tiger spirit inside of her. Now she has control over it completely and going to school." Buffy said.

"Outstanding. Does she change with the moon cycle?" Giles asked.

"No shifters can change anytime they want. They just call upon the animal spirit and they make a complete transformation, you wouldn't even know the animal was a human inside." Anya explained.

"That is so cool." Dawn said with a smile.

"This is blowing my mind right now. There are actually people out there that can change into a physical animal. How can someone be born with an animal spirit in them though?" Xander asked.

"It goes back to the beginning of the Earth. It's like with vampires. Originally they were pure demon and then over the centuries they have evolved into taking on part of the human DNA making them look human and turning them from a full demon into a half-breed. Shifters were around not long after humans were. Showmen wanted to give the humans a way to fight back against the animals and to survive so they infused the animal spirit into them and that was passed down to their children and so on. Now they are almost completely all gone." Anya explained.

"That's really sad that most of that race is completely wiped out." Tara said.

"That is really sad. Maybe we could meet her and be friends?" Willow suggested.

"Ya she's pretty cool and she has great fashion sense. Spike also said she could fight like hell so that's a bonus." Buffy said.

"I'd imagine having a tiger coming after you would be one hell of a problem for a human." Xander said.

"And for some demons. That animal ability of fighting and the kill would be very difficult to fight against." Giles said.

"Spike said she knew how to control it so that when she does change then she is in control of the animal and not the other way around." Buffy said.

"I would very much like to meet her and the other demons in this community." Giles said.

"Well talk to Spike about it. If nothing else you could just come with us on Friday to the lounge and meet some for yourself." Buffy said.

"Are you sure it would be okay for us to be there? As we are human?" Tara asked not wanting to upset anyone or demon with their presence.

"Spike said as long as we don't cause any problems they would be fine with it." Buffy said.

"Oh we wouldn't cause any problems." Willow said.

They all looked over at Xander as he was the last one of them to fully come around to the idea of this whole demon community and demons that are harmless. He seemed to be doing better with it though.

"Hey don't look at me like that. I'll behave. If they don't want to hurt anyone then I don't see why we can't live in harmony right?" Xander said as he held his hands up in a surrender gesture.

"It really is a great community and you could be a millionaire from doing jobs for them. Think of all the money you could make." Anya said.

"A millionaire? I should go work for them and not go to school." Buffy said.

"I wonder if they need a witch." Willow said as she thought about the money herself.

"They have plenty of witches. But they could use more muscle. You really should think about it Buffy. It would make more sense financially speaking. You could make more money working for the community then you could with a college degree." Anya said.

"Ya somehow I don't see mom going for that." Dawn said with a smirk to Buffy.

"I don't either, but a part-time job couldn't hurt right?" Buffy said with a smile.

"Maybe they need a babysitter?" Dawn suggested for herself.

"I really don't see mom agreeing to you babysitting demon children. Nice try." Buffy said with a smirk.

"It was worth a shot." Dawn said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright we need to get going. Mom is expecting us to be there for dinner tonight."

"Oh you are leaving so soon?" Giles asked disappointed in not being able to ask more about the demons.

"Why don't you just come back with us and you can ask Spike all about them. He would know their names more than me." Buffy said with a smile.

"Yes I think I will thank-you." Giles said as he got up to grab a notebook.

"You coming Xander?" Dawn asked.

"Ya I need to see if I can get Spike to give me a job. A sentence I never thought I would ever say." Xander said as he stood up.

"Have fun." Willow said with a smile.

"What are you guys up to?" Buffy asked Willow and Tara.

"We are going to have dinner out before we go back to the dorms to work on some reading we have to finish before the next semester starts." Tara answered.

"Oh fun. Get home safe." Buffy said.

"We will. Have a good night guys." Willow said with a smile.

"Goodnight Will, Tara. Ahn, I'll come back here once I'm done so we can go home together." Xander said as he went over to Anya and gave her a kiss goodbye.

"Ok, but hurry I want to have sex tonight." Anya said with a smile.

"I'll hurry back." Xander said with a smile before he headed to the door with Giles, Dawn and Buffy.

They all headed back to the house and once there they headed inside.

"Hey Mom." Buffy called out.

"In the kitchen sweetie." Joyce called back.

They all headed into the kitchen to see Spike sitting down on the stool at the island with Joyce working on making pasta. She turned around to see everyone was there behind her.

"Oh hello Xander, Rupert." Joyce said with a smile.

"Hey Joyce." Xander said with a smile as Dawn went over to Joyce and gave her a hug.

"Hello Joyce. I hope you don't mind us stopping by." Giles said politely.

"Not at all. How was school sweetie?" Joyce asked Dawn.

"Boring as usual, but Willow helped me get my Math homework done so yay." Dawn said with a smile before she headed over and gave Spike a hug.

"Ello Niblet. Did you write your History report?"

"Almost finished with it. Can you read it over when I'm done?"

"Sure Bit."

"Would you both like to stay for dinner? It's spaghetti and I made plenty for everyone." Joyce said with a smile.

"That would be great thank-you." Giles said with a smile.

"So Spike, did you pick a house yet?" Buffy asked as she went over to look at the house listings he had in front of him.

"Narrowed it down to two. Care to offer up a builder's opinion?" Spike asked as he looked at Xander.

"Sure." Xander said as he went over and picked up the two listings Spike pushed over to him.

Xander looked at both and both would need a lot of work to get ready, but they seemed to have a good structure from what he could see in the picture.

"Really depends on how much space you want and what you want done with them. These both are huge houses they have over five thousand square feet plus ten acres of land. It's a lot of work to repair them from how old they are. This one though has some foundation problems. You can see the house is slanting and if it's really bad you would have to tear the whole place down just to put in new foundation. I would go with this one based on pictures." Xander said as he pointed to the one house that had a more solid foundation.

"Ta mate. I didn't even notice the house was slanting. I'll go see em tonight and then I can figure out which one would be better. I'll need to watch out for that. Care to tag along?" Spike asked Xander.

"Ya sure I can do that."

Spike looked at Xander for a moment and he couldn't help, but feel like Spike was looking into his soul. After a moment Spike spoke.

"You are very willing to go into a demon community when you don't like demons or vampires."

"Anya told him how much he could make." Buffy said with a smile.

Spike let out a chuckle. "Ah there it is. Found out you could make millions building houses for demons instead of pennies for the humans." Spike said with a smile.

"There's nothing wrong with making money." Xander said in his own defense.

"Not at all. I love makin' money and I don't mind sharing the wealth. You want a job I can get you on a construction crew where you will be working on multiple houses a month. You'll make a killing. But you will be working with demons or half-demons. You will be the only human on the crew and they won't tolerate any bigoted opinion or comment from your mouth. Just one and they will kick you out and you will never get another opportunity to work for them again or any other demon community. And there are hundreds all around the world. If you aren't shy to travel you could make billions of dollars building houses for demons and their families. You want a chance then I can give it to you, but you run your mouth off not only are you screwin' around with your life and future but mine. They trust and value my opinion and I'm not gonna have you makin' me look bad because of your bigoted views." Spike warned.

"I get that. This is all very new to me. I'm trying to come to terms with it all I really am. You said it yourself that I've worked with demons already I just didn't know it. Anya said they were all harmless and they don't hurt humans and I believe her. I won't be disrespectful or make any comments. I'll just be one of the guys. I want to give families their dream home and if I can do that and make good money then I don't see why not."

"Alright. This is your one chance don't screw it up you could make some serious dosh with them. It's not just building homes for families. The demon community builds safe houses and transition houses for demon refugees that are able to escape a bad territory. You would be helping them do good for other harmless demons and their children. It can be really rewarding for the right person."

"I think it would be. I'm good with the whole demon thing. I'm working on being completely fine with it. I'm dating an ex-demon and it's not fair for me to deny her something that was apart of her for over a thousand years. I know she misses that community and being able to talk about it. I'm trying to be more open."

"And that is really sweet. You should be more open to it. After all if they are harmless then why not let them co-exist? That would be like never having any pets because one or two have been dangerous in the past. They are demons, but they must wish for acceptance within the human community." Joyce said.

"They were really nice to me last night and it wasn't because they were afraid I would kill them. I might even have a new friend out of it." Buffy said with a smile.

"Good for you sweetie. You are learning what your true gift is all about and you are accepting new friends that you would have thought twice about before all of this. I'm proud of you." Joyce said with a smile.

"Yes you have done remarkably well with this situation." Giles agreed.

"Thanks. I feel good about it. I don't want to hurt anyone that is harmless. Riley just wants to kill very demon, but I don't want to be like that. If they aren't going to hurt someone then why not let them live their lives. It's like what you said Mom, we don't kill all of the dogs because a few attacked a human. That would be wrong and killing these demons would be wrong too." Buffy said.

"That's why God chose you himself. A heart of pure light." Spike said with a smile.

"Awww." Dawn said with a dreamy smile.

Spike just rolled his eyes at her, but he had a smile on his face as well. Seeing as dinner was done they all went and set the table and grabbed some food. They went and sat down at the table to eat. After dinner Buffy decided she would go out and do a quick patrol and Giles said he would go with her so he could speak to her more about the demon community and her plans for the Initiative. Spike and Xander were heading into the demon community to look at the two houses. They walked by a few demons before Xander spoke.

"They don't seem too comfortable with humans."

"They don't trust humans very easily. This community is made up of harmless and innocent demons. In the demon world they were the minority and have been hunted, tortured and killed because of it. Communities like this they do what they can to rescue fellow demons out of bad areas and give them safe homes. Humans don't understand them and instantly fear them based on how they look. These demons are exiles from the demon world and from the human world. You wouldn't trust outsiders that easily either." Spike calmly explained.

"Ya that makes sense. I had no idea that demons hated each other."

"There have been hundreds of demon wars since the beginning of time. I've fought in ten of them myself for the community. Some demons spend their whole existence tryin' to kill as many of these demons and half-breeds as they can."

"What's a half-breed?"

"Half-demon, half-human. To some full demons they think half-breeds are impure and lower than dirt. Most spend their lives hiding underground hoping their children don't get killed."

"That's horrible. I never even thought that demons could have kids. It must be hard for the parents having to constantly worry about what could happen to their child. So these homes they build them to take in families that are in danger?"

"They do. Each community has a set number of homes that are used to bring over a rescued family. They get set up in the home until they find a job and are able to pay for their own home. They then move out and a new family moves in. Construction workers in each community will go around the world and build homes in smaller areas as transition houses. The demons can take a break at night or for a few days to figure out where to go from there. It's a strong community and they do everything they can to look out for each other."

"It sounds like it. They act better than most humans do. It'd be nice to give back and build safe houses for families." Xander said as they arrived at the first house.

Spike opened the door and they walked in. They could both tell that the house was a little slanted and Spike knew it wouldn't be a good one to purchase.

"Definitely foundation problems." Xander said as he looked around.

"Seems like. Gonna have to go with the other one. Not lookin' to deal with that problem."

"It's in some rough shape. They would be better off tearing it down and starting fresh. There are cracks all up the walls. This place could come down." Xander said as he looked in the living room.

"Let's see the other one."

They both headed out and made their way down the street to the next one. Once there they walked in and it wasn't in great condition, but it was at least on solid foundation.

"It's rough, but no cracks anywhere in the walls so far. What do you want done with the place?"

"Not too sure yet. I'll get the blue prints once I buy it then I can play around with it. I'll have a design by tomorrow night and then the building will start the next mornin'. Nice amount of room."

"There's like twelve bedrooms, a huge basement and ten acres of land. Lots of space to do anything with. What are you gonna do with all this space?"

"Extra bedrooms are helpful in case of emergencies. Space is good to have. The basement will make a great workout area."

"Ya it would. What are you gonna do about the windows?"

"There's a special glass that they make that stops the UV rays from coming in. The sunlight won't bother me inside."

"Oh cool."

"Let's go, I'll sign the contract and get the blue prints to this place. I also need to get those books for Watcher."

"Ya Gils is pretty excited for those books. He's really excited to go to the lounge and see all the different demons." Xander said as they headed out of the house.

"He's a learner that one. As long as he doesn't offend anyone with his questions and proddin' I think it'll be fine."

"He'll know when to stop. I thought his head was going to explode when Buff told him about the tiger-shifter." Xander said with a smile.

"Thought he'd like that one." Spike said with a smirk.

"Ahn helped to explain how it works. It made me think about Oz. I know he's a werewolf, but it didn't really click in my head until earlier that he was part demon. I know it only came out three days in the month, but still."

"Werewolves can learn how to control the demon so the demon comes out on demand and not just on the moon cycle. The owners of the lounge are both werewolves and they don't change on the full moon. They have complete control over the demon. Wolf boy will learn one day how he can master it. He'll also age slower resulting in a longer life assuming nothing kills him."

"Really? Damn I didn't know that and I doubt he does."

"He'll figure it out. Somethings you just have to learn on your own."

"That's true."

They arrived at the builder's office and they both went in. After thirty minutes Spike had the ownership papers and the blue prints in his hand. Xander had been able to get on the crew with the word from Spike that he wasn't a trouble maker and a good man. Something Xander never thought would happen. He was due at the house the day after tomorrow to begin the work on the house. He warned Xander that they worked hard and fast and didn't like to push projects on longer. Xander understood and he didn't mind the quick work. He would be getting one hell of a pay cheque so he was good with the fast pace environment. They would know he was human so he knew they wouldn't push him to lift something that they knew he wouldn't be able to. He wouldn't be as strong as the demons, but he could hold his own and he was going to prove that he belonged here. Once they left the office they headed to a storage locker that Spike had kept the books in for Giles.

"Not that I mind, but why did you come around so fast? It can't be just for the dosh." Spike asked.

"The cash helps. Would love to shove it in my parents' face, but that's not why. I figured with me dating an ex-demon and after what happened with the Initiative that maybe it was time I grew up and left some beliefs behind." Xander answered honestly.

"Where did the beliefs come from anyways? Most people hate vamps and demons, but they have a reason for it usually."

"My ah… Jesse, he was my best male friend. Really the only male friend I had. I didn't have much in the way of friends I was an outcast and all I had was Willow and Jesse before Buffy came. It was our second year in High School and he was killed by a vamp, he was turned. I had to stake him. After that I just wanted all vamps and demons dead. Then Angel went evil and that made it even worse. Then you got that chip in your head and that made me even madder. You were different. You didn't have to help out when you found out you could hit a demon, but you did. You made me start questioning if I did the right thing or not. Maybe he would have been like Jesse if I had given him some time to adjust to being a vampire. I could have chained him up somewhere to help him through it. Instead I just killed him." Xander said with hurt in his voice.

"You did the right thing."

Xander looked like he was going to argue against that point so Spike continued to speak.

"No listen to me you did the right thing. I don't know why I'm different, but I am. Always have been from the moment I crawled out of the earth. I didn't kill a human for that first month. I went hunting wild game in the woods and went home to take care of my sick Mum. I don't know why I'm so bloody different, but I am. Your friend, the friend you cared about and knew died that night. Not gonna lie, part of your friend would have still been in there right alongside the demon, but you don't know what parts there would have been. Fresh vamps are uncontrollable unless it is by an older vamp or their Sire. There is nothing you could have done for him. Chaining him up wouldn't have made a lick of a difference. Vamps Sired that young always are uncontrollable. The rebel in the teenager gets even worse once a demon is introduced. Your friend would have continued to kill people until someone dusted him. You did the right thing by your mate. His soul is in Heaven and if he is as good as a bloke you think he is then he wouldn't have wanted his body goin' around killin' people. You did right by him. You need to forgive yourself." Spike said calmly.

"You really think he's in Heaven?" Xander asked with a thick voice.

"I do. Young ones always get a pass. He's in Heaven probably gettin' laid more than you." Spike said with smirk to ease the tension.

Xander let out a chuckle to that. "He was always a horn dog. He hit on Cordelia and Harmony so many times. They always shot him down."

"Trust me Harm is not worth all the talkin' she never shuts up."

"Are you still seeing her?"

"Fuck no. We were never datin'. That's why you don't date the young ones they never understand that a fuck is a fuck unless stated otherwise. She thought we were in love and soulmates. Don't get me wrong she's a good bird just needs some growin' up and someone deaf to be with."

"I heard Cordelia is doing better in that growing up department. It's crazy to think how I used to be in love with her. It seems like a lifetime ago."

"A lot has happened since then. You've grown and see a different side of the world with responsibilities from havin' to work. It happens, it's not a bad thing."

"No it's not."

They arrived at the storage unit and Spike used his key to unlock the lock before he pulled the storage locker door all the way up. Xander was shocked to see a car in the storage locker with boxes and a safe in it. Spike went over to the safe and he put in the combo to open the safe where the books are kept.

"What's in the boxes?"

"Really? I thought for sure you would have asked about the car first." Spike said with a smirk as he grabbed the books.

"Well it seemed more rude to ask about the car than the boxes." Xander said with an awkward smile.

"They have some things I've collected over the century. Some pieces of artwork, records, things like that. I also have another locker with another car in it. That one has to get worked done on it to repair it. It's in rough shape, but given the time I can make it look better than new."

"What is it?" Xander asked interested.

"A 1969 ZL1 Camaro." Spike said with a smirk.

"Seriously? That's one of the rarest cars out there and fast as hell. How bad of shape is it in?"

"Can't drive it the engine is too dirty and it'll need parts to run properly. I'm thinkin' I'm gonna work on it after the house is finished. This baby though is all complete and just waitin' for the right time to get out of here." Spike said as he pulled the car cover off to reveal what the car was underneath.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" Xander asked amazed and in awe at the car in front of him.

"This one fetched a pretty penny when I bought it. It's not normally my style especially with the red paint, but it was too good to pass up." Spike said with a smile.

"You have a fucking 1961 Ferrari Spyder. This thing could go for ten million dollars you do know that right?" Xander asked still in shock.

"Only thirty-six were ever made and I got mine the day it came out. Paid a million for it. I'm thinkin' of paintin' it a darker red."

"Why haven't you driven it?"

"I have, but don't like to do it when I'm drunk and Dru hated this thing."

"See that's why she's crazy. Who could hate something as beautiful as this car? I feel like I'm cheating on Anya just by looking at it."

Spike let out a chuckle. "Well I ever dust you can fight Angel for it."

"You dust I am coming down here and breaking in and stealing it before he even gets here." Xander joked.

Spike let out a chuckle. "I got Watcher the books so if you are done drooling over my car we can leave."

"You gotta let me ride in this at some point." Xander said with a final sigh at the car before Spike went and put the cover back on.

"I'll see what I can work out Mate."

"That's an amazing car." Xander said as they left the storage locker.

"She's a beauty. You do right with this construction crew and one day sooner than you think you'll be able to afford a car like that."

"Anya said that you can make millions working for the demon community. All the more reason to make sure it works out here. Have a nice house and a nice car. Be successful in life before I get horribly murdered by some vamp or demon."

"Money doesn't bring success in life Mate. If you find a woman you love and want to spend the rest of your life with. If you have a purpose in life then you will be successful. Money is only a bonus."

"Says the guy who has it." Xander said with a smirk.

"I would give it all up in a heartbeat if it meant I would find a woman who loved me and wanted to be with me until we die. I wouldn't even hesitate."

"That's really all you want in life? To find someone to be with forever?"

"It really is. All I have ever wanted was to find a woman to love and who loves me and wants me. Over a century later I still want the same thing. I've loved others, but never had anyone love me outside of my own Mum and that's not the same. I'd like to know what that would feel like before I dust." Spike said honestly.

"I'm sure you will. I don't have money, but at least I know what it feels like to be loved by someone. I hope you get to experience that feeling too." Xander said honestly back.

"Ta Mate."

Spike walked Xander back to the Magic Shop before he headed back to the house to wait for Buffy and Giles to return so he could give Giles the books. Spike went over the blue prints and started to figure out what he wanted to do with the house while he waited for when Buffy and Giles would return. He never thought he would ever be making a life here in Sunnydale, but he was now and he was going to make sure it was the life he wanted to live. For once in his existence he was going to live for himself and follow his own heart and his own dreams starting with his house. Spike went to work on the blue prints while he listened to the sound of Joyce's and Dawn's heartbeats giving him comfort that he wasn't alone in the world anymore.

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Listen to your heart by Roxanne.


	4. Follow Me- Update

Hello there!

I have begun a collection of new books for all ages from children's picture books to adult series that are being published online. You can connect with me and find out more information through my social media pages. I am working on finishing my novel called Satanic Inferno. It will be published through Kobo on March 1st, 2017. Check out my Facebook page for more information and a 10% discount code for the first few days of the release.

You have all followed me on Fanfiction and I am hoping you will continue to follow me now that I have transitioned into writing and publishing my own novels. But fear not I am still going to be working on Fanfiction and finishing all of my stories. I'm not going anywhere in that sense. All support would be greatly appreciated.

Thank-you so much to all of my loyal followers. Without you none of this would have been possible! If you have any questions or would like a sneak peek of my novel please Message me and I will send it your way.

Facebook: DianneRose2016


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